:  ;  •    • 

AR!    FED 


•         M      .•...••:..'..: 


I r.  . 


••    :    LI  .:•--•.•. :    "    .  :.        ;          '- 


i:  • 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

Class 


HOW   WE  ARE   FED 


HOME  AND    WORLD  SERIES 


HOW  WE  ARE  FED 


A  GEOGRAPHICAL   READER 


BY 


JAMES   FRANKLIN   CHAMBERLAIN,   ED.B.,  S.B. 

DEPARTMENT   OF  GEOGRAPHY,    STATE   NORMAL   SCHOOL 
LOS  ANGELES,   CALIFORNIA 


.. 

UNIVEkotTY 
t 

- 


gorfe 
THE   MACMILLAN   COMPANY 

LONDON :  MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  LTD. 
1905 

All  rights  reserved 


COPYKIGHT,    1903, 

BY  THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY. 


Set  up,  electrotyped,  and  published  June,  1903.     Reprinted 
January,  June,  August,  1904 ;  July,  1905. 


NortooolJ 

J.  S.  Cashing  &  Co.  —  Berwick  &  Smith  Co. 
Norwood,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


PREFACE 

In  the  ordinary  course  of  events,  most  indi- 
viduals take  some  part  in  the  manifold  industries 
which  engage  the  mind  and  the  hand  of  man,  by 
which  alone  our  present-day  civilization  can  be 
maintained.  These  great  world  activities  touch 
the  daily  life  of  every  member  of  society, 
whether  child  or  adult,  worker  or  idler. 

A  chain  of  mutual  dependence,  too  often  un- 
recognized, binds  together  the  members  of  the 
human  family,  whether  they  belong  to  the  same 
community  or  dwell  on  opposite  sides  of  the 
earth.  The  links  of  this  chain  are  made  up  of 
the  articles  which  constitute  our  daily  food,  our 
clothing,  homes,  fuel,  light,  our  means  of  com* 
munication  and  transportation,  and  only  by  con- 
tinuous cooperation  are  they  kept  together. 

The  highest  motive  in  education  is  to  present 
the  conditions  wrhich  will  lead  to  the  most  com- 
plete living ;  to  build  up  the  best  possible  mem- 

v 

166928 


vi  PREFACE 

bers  of  society ;  to  develop  character.  An 
individual  who  does  not  understand  the  life  of 
which  he  finds  himself  a  part,  cannot  be  in  full 
sympathy  with  its  conditions  and  hence  cannot 
be  of  the  most  service  to  himself  or  to  others. 
Only  to  the  extent  that  education  and  life  follow 
the  same  general  course,  can  each  be  truly  suc- 
cessful. Far  too  little  is  done  in  our  schools  to 
acquaint  children  with  their  relations  to  the 
great  industrial  and  social  organization  of  which 
they  are  members.  Even  grown  persons  have, 
as  a  rule,  a  very  indefinite  knowledge  of  these 
relations. 

It  is  a  recognized  principle  that  our  knowledge 
of  geography  has  its  foundation  in  our  knowl- 
edge of  the  home.  The  natural  connecting  link 
between  the  immediate  surroundings  and  the 
outside  world  is  the  present  daily  life  of  the 
home.  Through  the  industries  seen  in  the  com- 
munity, the  commodities  in  general  use,  and  the 
history  of  their  creation  and  supply,  the  pupil 
acquires  an  insight  into  the  life  about  him  as 
well  as  into  that  of  other  parts  of  the  world. 
He  also  realizes  the  great  truth  that  the  world 


PREFACE  vii 

and  its  people  are  in  intimate  touch  with  him. 
In  this  way  he  is  led  back  and  forth  along  the 
routes  which  civilization  has  followed  in  its 
progress,  which  it  also  follows  to-day,  as  man- 
kind clasp  hands  across  oceans  and  continents. 
Thus  the  remote  and  abstract  become  immediate 
and  concrete.  Facts  are  seen  in  a  setting  of 
reason,  and  a  logical  and  interesting  basis  for 
the  study  of  physical,  climatic,  and  human  con- 
ditions is  furnished. 

This  study  begins  with  the  commodities  in 
constant  use  and  finally  encompasses  the  whole 
world,  but  always  with  the  home  as  the  base  of 
operations.  It  will  create  a  knowledge  of  the 
interdependence  of  individuals,  communities,  arid 
nations,  and  a  genuine  respect  for  the  work  of 
the  hands  and  for  the  worker.  The  importance 
of  this  respect  is  not  likely  to  be  overestimated. 
Without  it  a  true  democracy  cannot  long  exist. 

Reading  should  not  only  serve  for  the  acquisi- 
tion and  the  expression  of  the  thought  contained 
in  the  printed  page ;  it  should,  in  addition,  stim- 
ulate to  new  thought  —  to  independent  power  in 
reasoning.  Ou  this  account  questions  are  in- 


viii  PREFACE 

serted  which  the  pupil  is  left  to  answer.  These 
are  suggestive  of  a  much  larger  number,  which 
should  be  worked  out  by  the  teacher.  Too 
many  of  the  questions  found  in  books  do  not 
" stimulate  thought"  or  "independent  power  in 
reasoning."  They  are  purely  informatory  and 
not  at  all  formative. 

No  attempt  has  been  made  to  treat  every 
article  of  food.  Those  in  most  general  use,  as 
well  as  those  which  will  best  serve  to  develop  a 
knowledge  of  geographical  conditions  and  of 
man's  relation  to  man,  have  been  chosen. 

A  given  industry  is  pursued  in  somewhat  dif- 
ferent ways  in  different  places.  It  has  not  been 
thought  wise  to  describe  each  modification  in 
these  pages.  For  example,  the  method  of  han- 
dling wheat  in  California  is  different  from  that 
employed  in  Minnesota.  The  value  of  the  work 
will  be  increased  if  the  teacher  will  bring  out 
these  points. 

All  places  mentioned  should  ~be  definitely  lo- 
cated, both  as  to  position  on  the  map  or  globe 
and  with  reference  to  the  home.  When  devel- 
oped from  the  standpoint  of  direct;  personal 


PREFACE  ix 

interest,  a  knowledge  of  the  location  of  places 
as  well  as  of  other  facts  mentioned  is  most 
likely  to  be  retained. 

The  illustrations  used  have  been  very  care- 
fully selected  for  their  teaching  value.  They 
give  a  clearness  to  mental  pictures  which  can  be 
derived  only  through  observation  of  that  which 
the  illustrations  symbolize.  Much  experience  in 
the  use  of  geographical  illustrations  has  shown 
that  pupils  need  to  be  directed  in  their  examina- 
tion of  them.  To  secure  the  best  results  they 
must  be  made  the  centers  of  thought-developing 
questions. 

Thanks  are  due  the  Pillsbury-Washburn  Flour 
Mills  Company  of  Minneapolis,  the  Swift  Pack- 
ing Company  of  Chicago,  the  Walter  Baker 
Company  of  Dorchester,  the  United  Fruit  Com- 
pany of  New  Orleans,  and  Dr.  Charles  U.  Shep- 
ard  of  Pinehurst  Plantation,  for  the  excellent 
illustrations  furnished  by  them. 

JAMES  FRANKLIN  CHAMBERLAIN. 

STATE  NORMAL  SCHOOL, 
JL«os  ANGELES,  March,  1903. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

THE  PAST  AND  THE  PRESENT 1 

THE  STORY  OF  A  LOAF  OF  BREAD          ....  7 

How  OUR  MEAT  is  SUPPLIED 18 

MARKET  GARDENING 32 

DAIRY  PRODUCTS 41 

BUTTER  MAKING 44 

CHEESE ,  50 

THE  FISHING  INDUSTRY 54 

OYSTER  FARMING 64 

A  RICE  FIELD 70 

How  SUGAR  is  MADE 77 

BEET  SUGAR 84 

MAPLE  SUGAR 87 

WHERE  SALT  COMES  FROM 91 

MACARONI  AND  VERMICELLI     ......  99 

ON  A  COFFEE  PLANTATION 104 

THE  TEA  GARDENS  OF  CHINA 113 

A  CUP  OF  COCOA 120 

A  CRANBERRY  BOG 131 

THE  COCOANUT  ISLANDS  OF  THE  PACIFIC      .        .        .  139 

xi 


xii  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

A  BUNCH  OF  BANANAS 146 

How  DATES  GROW 155 

THE  ORANGE  GROVES  OF  SOUTHERN  CALIFORNIA         .  165 

A  VISIT  TO  A  VINEYARD  . 174 

NUTTING .  184 

A  WALNUT  VACATION 187 

CHESTNUTS  ..........  193 

A  BAG  OF  PEANUTS 195 

ASSORTED  NUTS 201 

A  STRANGE  CONVERSATION 206 


HOW  WE  ARE  FED 


r 


^^^^-^a^S. 

V     GFTH£   '"      X 

UNIVERSITY   J 


HOW  WE  ARE  FED 

THE   PAST  AND   THE  PRESENT 

Long,  long  ago  people  did  not  live  as  we  do 
to-day.  Their  homes  were  very  different  from 
ours,  for  they  were  made  of  the  skins  of  wild 
animals,  of  the  limbs  and  bark  of  trees,  or  of  tall 
grasses.  There  were  no  stoves,  chairs,  tables,  or 
beds  in  their  houses.  Instead  of  lamps,  gas, 
or  electricity,  a  fire  on  the  dirt  floor  or  in  front 
of  the  house,  furnished  the  light. 

The  clothing  of  these  people  was  as  simple 
as  their  homes.  It  was  made  of  skins  and 
furs  in  cold  countries  and  in  warm  countries  of 
braided  grasses  and  the  fibers  of  certain  plants. 
You  may  be  sure  that  tailors  and  dressmakers 
were  not  consulted  as  to  the  latest  styles,  for  the 
styles  did  not  change  and  there  were  neither 
tailors  nor  dressmakers  to  talk  to.  Each  family 

i 


2  HOW  WE   ARE  FED 

made  its  own  clothing,  and  there  was  not  a 
sewing  machine  to  be  found. 

How  would  you  like  to  use  a  bone  for  a 
needle  ?  Sometimes,  instead  of  sharpened  bones, 
long  thorns  were  used.  The  sinews  of  the  deer, 
or  of  some  other  animal,  usually  furnished  the 
thread. . 

When  the  people  were  in  need  of  food,  they 
went  into  the  forest  and  gathered  roots,  nuts, 
and  fruits.  Wild  animals  were  killed  by 
means  of  such  weapons  as  bows  and  arrows 
and  spears,  and  fish  were  caught  in  the  lakes 
and  streams. 

The  food  was  not  cooked  as  ours  is;  for,  as 
I  have  told  you,  there  were  no  stoves.  Some- 
times the  meat  was  broiled  over  the  fire,  some- 
times baked  in  a  hole  filled  with  ashes  and  coals, 
but  it  was  often  eaten  raw.  It  was  not  easy 
to  have  a  variety  of  food,  and  there  were 
times  when  it  was  very  difficult  to  obtain 
anything.  When  food  was  abundant,  the 
people  feasted,  and  when  it  was  scarce,  they 
were  often  hungry.  How  would  you  like  to 
wait  for  your  breakfast  while  your  father 


THE   PAST   AND   THE   PRESENT  3 

went  to  the  woods  or  to  the  river  in  search  of 
something  to  eat  ? 

When   the   meals  were  prepared,  they  were 
not  neatly  served  as  yours  are,  but  each  person 


FIG.  1.  — Indians  at  Dinner. 

took  his  portion  and  sat  on  the  ground  while 
he  ate  it. 

All  of  this  seems  very  strange  to  you,  I  know. 
If  you  live  in  the  city,  you  are  accustomed  to 
seeing  the  butcher,  the  baker,  the  milkman,  and 
the  grocer  call  every  day.  There  are  stores 


4  HOW  WE   ARE   FED 

where  people  can  buy  whatever  they  want  to 
eat,  drink,  or  wear.  You  wonder  how  any  one 
could  live  in  such  a  way  as  I  have  described, 
but  there  are  people  who  live  in  this  fashion 
to-day,  although  you  have  never  seen  any  of 
them.  They  are  uncivilized.  Where  do  you 
think  they  are  to  be  found  ?  When  people  live 
in  this  way,  it  takes  most  of  their  time  to  provide 
themselves  with  the  things  that  are  necessary  to 
life.  They  have  little  opportunity  to  improve 
their  ways  of  living  and  of  thinking. 

Civilized  people  divide  their  work.  Some 
provide  food,  some  make  clothing,  some  build 
houses,  and  some  furnish  fuel.  Each  one  does 
his  or  her  part.  In  this  way,  you  see,  they  learn 
to  do  their  work  better  and  better,  because  each 
gives  much  time  and  thought  to  one  kind  of 
work.  This  plan  gives  each  one  time  to  study 
and  to  learn  something  about  the  world  and  its 
people.  Think  how  much  better  our  homes,  our 
clothing,  and  our  food  are,  than  are  those  ol 
uncivilized  people,  and  how  many  other  advan- 
tages we  have. 

It  is  only  possible   to  live    as  we  do,  when 


THE   PAST  AND   THE   PRESENT  5 

each  one  works  for  others  as  well  as  for  him- 
self. If  any  one  fails  to  do  his  part,  the  rest 
must  suffer  until  some  one  is  found  to  take  his 
place.  It  is  to  prepare  yourself  to  do  your  part 
in  some  useful  work  for  others,  that  you  are 


.  2.  —  White  People  at  Dinner. 


going  to  school  day  by  day.  You  do  not  now 
know  just  what  that  work  is  to  be,  but  I  want 
you  to  remember  that  all  honest  work  is  noble. 
It  is  not  so  important  what  work  you  do,  as  it  is 
that  you  should  do  your  work  well.  No  matter 


6  HOW   WE   ARE   FED 

what  your  work  may  be,  you  can  carry  sunshine 
in  your  face  and  helpfulness  in  your  heart.  If 
you  do  this,  you  will  be  known  and  loved. 
Hard  work,  coarse  clothes,  and  lack  of  money 
can  never  hide  these  things,  neither  will  the 
finest  of  clothing  cover  a  selfish  or  untruthful 
nature. 

Let  us  look  at  this  dinner  table  loaded  with 
good  things  to  eat  and  drink.  There  are  bread, 
butter,  meat,  vegetables,  milk,  tea,  fruits,  and 
other  things.  You  see  at  once  that  many  per- 
sons must  have  worked  to  provide  this  food,  for 
only  a  small  part  of  the  work  was  done  in  the 
kitchen.  If  these  things  could  but  speak,  they 
might  tell  you  stories  as  wonderful  as  fairy 
tales.  They  have  been  gathered  here  from  the 
fertile  plains  of  the  West,  from  the  sunny 

South,    from    Brazil,    from    the    islands    of    the 

§ 

Pacific  Ocean,  from  far-off  China,  and  .even 
from  the  waters  of  the  sea. 


THE  STORY  OF  A  LOAF  OF  BREAD 

In  the  dark  granary  of  a  farmer's  barn  in 
North  Dakota  once  lived  a  modest  family  of 
grains  of  wheat.  The  bright,  warm  days  of  the 
summer  time,  during  which  they  had  been 
placed  in  this  dark  room,  soon  grew  shorter 
and  cooler.  The  swallows,  whose  mud  nests 
were  in  the  rafters  overhead,  told  the  wheat 
brothers  that  winter  was  coming,  and  then  flew 
away  to  the  balmy  southland. 

Soon  biting  winds  and  blinding  snow  came 
sweeping  over  the  level  land.  Sometimes  the 
farmhouse  was  almost  hidden  under  the  drifts, 
and  the  farmer  had  to  shovel  out  a  path  to  the 
barn,  so  that  he  could  feed  the  horses  and  cattle. 
By  and  by  the  days  grew  warmer,  the  snow  dis- 
appeared, and  the  birds  returned  one  by  one. 
The  farmer  and  his  men  got  out  their  plows 
and  harrows,  and  prepared  the  soil  for  the 
seeds  soon  to  be  planted. 

7 


8  HOW   WE   ARE   FED 

The  wheat  was  now  shoveled  into  sacks  and 
taken  to  the  fields.  Here  it  was  placed  in  great 
machines  drawn  by  horses,  which  scattered  it 
evenly  over  the  land  and  at  the  same  time 
covered  it  with  soft  soil.  The  men  whistled 
and  sang  as  they  worked,  and  blackbirds,  blue- 
birds, and  larks  flew  back  and  forth,  singing 
and  searching  for  bugs  and  worms,  as  well  as 
for  the  shining  kernels  of  wheat. 

The  wheat  was  not  content  to  remain  under- 
ground, but  kept  trying  to  push  itself  out  into 
the  world.  One  night  there  came  a  wTarm 
shower,  and  the  next  morning  what  looked 
like  tiny,  green  blades  of  grass  appeared  all 
over  the  field. 

All  through  the  spring  and  summer  the  wheat 
kept  growing,  and  finally  there  appeared  at  the 
ends  of  the  stalks  clusters  of  kernels,  just  like 
those  which  the  farmer  had  planted.  Some  of 
these  kernels  had  produced  families  of  twenty 
or  thirty.  These  clusters  are  called  heads. 

As  the  south  wind  passed  over  the  field  it 
brought  the  wheat  messages  from  Minnesota, 
Iowa,  Illinois,  Indiana,  and  other  states,  telling 


OF  THE 

UN/VERSITV 

OF 


THE  STORY  OF  A  LOAF  OF  BREAD     11 

of  relatives  who  were  already  turning  golden 
in  the  summer  sunshine.  One  day  some  of 
the  kernels  thought  they  heard  a  voice  from 
California.  Do  you  think  they  did  ? 

The  grain  in  some  of  the  fields  was  called 
winter  wheat.  This  was  because  the  grain  had 
been  sown  the  autumn  before,  and  had  remained 
in  the  ground  all  winter,  covered  by  a  blanket 
of  snow.  Why  was  it  sown  in  the  fall  ?  The 
wheat  of  which  I  am  telling  you  was  called 
by  the  farmer  spring  wheat. 

Soon  machines,  each  drawn  by  several  horses, 
appeared.  They  cut  the  waving  grain,  and 
bound  it  up  in  bundles  called  sheaves.  These 
were  set  up  in  doable  rows  to  dry,  and  after- 
ward put  into  another  machine  which  sepa- 
rated the  kernels  from  the  stalks,  which  were 
now  called  straw.  This  work  the  farmer  calls 
threshing.  See  if  you  can  find  out  how  this 
used  to  be  done. 

After  threshing,  the  wheat  was  put  into 
sacks  and  taken  to  the  nearest  railroad  station. 
Freight  cars  then  carried  it  across  the  level 
prairies  to  the  beautiful  city  of  Minneapolis, 


12 


HOW   WE   ARE   FED 


built  beside  the  Falls  of  Saint  Anthony.  What 
river  is  this  city  on  ?  Of  what  use  .are  the 
falls? 

There  are  tall  buildings  called  elevators  here 
in  which  the  wheat  was  stored  for  a  time. 
Before  being  put  into  the  elevators  it  was 


FIG.  4.  —  Threshing  Wheat  in  Southern  California. 

examined  and  graded.  As  there  was  wheat 
from  many  farms  it  could  not  be  kept  separate, 
so  each  farmer  was  told  how  much  he  had, 
and  how  it  graded. 

Some  time  after  this  the  wheat  was  taken 
to  one  of  the  great  mills  to  be  ground  into 
flour.  The  largest  of  these  mills  manufactures 


THE  STORY  OF  A  LOAF  OF  BREAD     13 

about  fifteen  thousand  barrels  of  flour  every 
day.  This  is  the  largest  flour  mill  in  the 
world. 

When  the  kernels  reached  the  mill,  they 
were  put  into  machines  called  separators,  to 
be  separated  from,  all  companions  such  as  grass 


FIG.  5.  — The  Flour  Mills  in  Minneapolis. 

seed,  mustard  seed,  and  wild  buckwheat.  They 
were  then  placed  in  an  iron  box  in  which 
brushes  were  revolving  rapidly,  and  were 
scoured  to  free  them  from  fuzz  and  dirt. 
Those  that  were  very  dirty  were  washed. 

The  kernels  were  steamed,  in  order  that  the 
coating,    called    &rem,   might    not    break    into 


14 


HOW   WE   ARE   FED 


small  pieces.  This  is  called  tempering.  The 
kernels  now  thought  that  their  trials  were 
over,  but  they  were  mistaken.  Soon  they 
found  themselves  being  crushed  between  rollers. 
After  they  came  out  they  were  sifted.,  and  then 


FIG.  6.  —The  Largest  Flour  Mill  in  the  World. 

run  between  other  rollers.  This  w^as  repeated 
six  times,  and  each  time  the  flonr  was  a  little 
finer,  for  the  rollers  were  closer  together.  The 
flour  was  then  run  through  tubes  of  flannel. 
These  took  out  whatever  dust  it  contained.  It 


THE  STORY  OF  A  LOAF  OF  BREAD 


15 


was  then  ground  still  finer.  The  flour  was 
then  put  into  sacks  or  barrels,  which  were 
marked  for  shipment  to  other  parts  of  the 
country. 

Only  the  wheat   intended  for  the  very  best 
grade  of  flour  is  treated  as  carefully  as  this  was. 


FIG.  7.  —  Grinding  Wheat. 

What  industry  does  the  use  of  barrels  bring  in  ? 

From  the  mills  the  flour  was  sent  to  many 
parts  of  the  land  to  supply  stores,  bakeries, 
hotels,  and  homes.  Some  of  it  found  its  way 
to  the  bakery  near  your  home.  The  bakers,  in 
their  clean  suits  of  white,  weighed  the  flour 


16  HOW   WE   ARE   FED 

which  they  were  going  to  use,  and  then  added 
a  certain  amount  of  water  to  it.  Some  yeast 
and  salt  were  added  also.  This  mixture  they 
called  dough.  You  have  seen  your  mother  mix 
or  knead  dough,  I  am  sure.  The  bakers  did 


FIG.  8.  —  Bolting  Flour. 

not  do  the  kneading  with  their  hands,  but  by 
means  of  machinery  made  for  this  purpose. 

When  the  dough  had  been  thoroughly 
kneaded  it  was  left  to  rise.  It  is  the  yeast 
that  causes  the  rising.  This  makes  the  bread 
light  and  spongy.  It  was  then  cut  into  loaves 
and  placed  in  the  oven.  The  ovens  in  the 


THE  STORY  OF  A  LOAF  OF  BREAD    17 

bakery  are  very  much  larger  than  those  in 
your  kitchen  stove,  for  many  loaves  are  baked 
at  once.  When  a  nice  shade  of  brown  ap- 
peared on  the  loaves,  the  bakers  took  them  out 
of  the  oven  by  means  of  long  shovels.  Soon 
the  delivery  wagons  came  and  were  loaded 
with  the  fresh  bread  to  be  delivered  to  stores 
and  homes.  This  loaf  was  just  left  at  the 
door  and  is  still  warm. 

So,  you  see,  a  loaf  of  bread  has  quite  a  his- 
tory. I  have  told  you  the  life  story  of  this 
one  from  the  time  of  its  grandparents,  who 
were  raised  on  the  plains  of  North  Dakota. 
Would  it  not  be  interesting  to  see  each  of  the 
people  who  have  had  something  to  do  with  its 
production,  and  to  make  the  journey  which 
the  wheat  and  the  flour  made  ?  You  can  do 
both  in  your  thoughts. 


HOW   OUR   MEAT   IS   SUPPLIED 

Ramon  lived  in  a  plain,  one-story  house,  built 
in  the  shade  of  some  cottonwood  trees  that 
fringed  each  side  of  a  small  river  in  the  eastern 
part  of  Colorado.  A  wide  veranda  extended 
entirely  around  the  house,  but  there  were  very 
few  flowers  and  no  lawn.  I  am  afraid  you 
would  not  think  it  a  very  pleasant  place  for  a 
home. 

Not  far  from  the  ranch  house,  as  it  was  called, 
were  the  barn  and  the  corrals.  A  corral  is  a 
yard  with  a  strong,  high  fence  about  it,  in 
which  cattle  or  horses  may  be  placed.  On  the 
bottom  land  beside  the  stream,  there  wras  a  corn 
and  an  alfalfa  patch,  besides  one  containing 
some  potatoes  and  garden  vegetables. 

During  most  of  the  year  the  stream  was 
quite  shallow,  and  flowed  quietly  over  its  bed, 
but  when  heavy  rains  occurred  it  rose  rapidly, 
spreading  over  much  of  the  bottom  land  and 

18 


HOW   OUR  MEAT  IS   SUPPLIED  19 

carrying  so  much  clay  with  it  that  it  was  almost 
the  color  of  coffee. 

Except  along  the  river,  not  a  tree  was  in 
sight  from  Ramon's  home,  and  it  was  many 
miles  to  the  nearest  house.  For  hundreds  of 
miles  both  north  and  south,  there  stretched  a 
vast  plain.  Little  was  to  be  seen  but  sand, 
grass,  and  sagebrush.  I  had  almost  forgotten 
the  prairie  dogs,  which  scamper  across  the  plain 
or  sit  up  straight  and  motionless  on  a  little 
mound  of  sand  beside  their  burrows.  They 
watch  you  closely,  not  moving  unless  they 
regard  you  as  a  dangerous  creature,  when,  quick 
as  a  flash,  they  disappear. 

The  rainfall  is  very  slight  in  this  part  of  the 
country,  being  less  than  twenty  inches  a  year. 
On  this  account  there  is  little  attention  paid  to 
farming,  but  instead,  the  settlers  own  great 
herds  of  cattle  as  well  as  many  horses.  Ra- 
mon's father  is  one  of  the  cattlemen  of  Colorado. 
He  owns  more  than  ten  thousand  head  of  cattle, 
and  some  of  the  cattlemen  own  twice  that 
number.  Of  course  such  great  herds  of  cattle 
must  have  much  land  to  graze  on.  Some  of 


20  HOW   WE   ARE   FED 

the  land  is  owned  by  the  government  and  any 
one  may  use  it.  Everywhere  fences  are  far 
apart.  These  great  pastures  are  called  ranges. 

Ramon's  life  is  not  much  like  yours.  His 
home  is  far  from  schools,  churches,  stores,  or 
railroads.  He  seldom  sees  strangers,  but  he 
enjoys  long  rides  on  his  own  pony,  Prince. 
Sometimes  he  goes  with  his  father  and  at  other 
times  he  takes  a  gallop  with  one  of  the  "  cow- 
boys" who  herd  the  cattle. 

The  "  cowboys "  almost  live  in  the  saddle. 
They  are  out  in  all  kinds  of  weather  and  are 
not  boys  at  all,  but  strong,  hardy  men.  They 
wear  broad-brimmed  hats,  and  carry  long  ropes 
called  lassos  or  lariats,  with  which  they  catch 
the  cattle. 

Where  there  are  so  many  herds  they  some- 
times get  mixed  up.  On  this  account  each 
cattleman  marks  or  brands  his  animals.  These 
brands  may  be  the  initial  letter  of  the  owner's 
name,  or  they  may  be  in  the  form  of  a  horse- 
shoe, a  cross,  a  circle,  or  a  crescent. 

Each  spring  and  fall  the  cowboys  gather 
the  cattle  together.  This  is  called  "  rounding 


HOW   OUR  MEAT   IS   SUPPLIED  21 

up"  the  cattle.  They  are  then  counted  and 
the  calves  born  since  the  last  "round  up5'  are 
branded.  In  the  fall,  in  addition  to  this  work, 
animals  are  selected  for  the  market.  Why  is 
the  fall  a  better  time  for  this  than  the  spring  ? 
The  cowboys,  mounted  upon  their  swift, 
strong  ponies,  single  out  the  animals  that  have 


i.  —  Point  to  the  Lariats. 


never  been  branded,  and  swinging  their  lassos 
over  their  heads,  they  throw  them  with  such 
skill  that  the  loop  settles  over  the  head  or  about 
the  leg  of  the  one  wanted.  As  soon  as  the 
rope  tightens,  the  pony  braces  its  forefeet  firmly 
and  the  animal  is  finally  thrown  to  the  ground. 


22  HOW   WE    ARE   FED 

It  is  then  branded  with  a  hot  iron  and  allowed 
to  go.  Ramon  used  to  feel  very  sorry  for  them 
until  his  father  explained  that  it  hurt  them 
very  little,  for  only  the  skin  was  burned. 

Sometimes  the  cattle  selected  to  be  sold,  are 
not  quite  fat  enough  for  the  market.  They  are 
then  taken  farther  east  into  the  corn  belt  and 
fed  for  a  time. 

When  they  are  shipped  directly  from  the 
range  to  the  market,  they  are  driven  to  the 
nearest  railroad  and  put  into  yards  beside 
the  track.  They  are  then  made  to  walk  up  an 
incline  with  high  railings  ending  at  the  open 
doors  of  a  cattle  car.  The  animals  are  arranged 
so  that  the  first  faces  one  side  of  the  car,  the 
second  the  other,  and  so  on.  This  is  done  so 
that  the  cattle  cannot  hook  one  another,  and 
also  that  they  may  be  fed  and  watered  on  the 
way  from  a  long  iron  trough  which  is  fastened 
to  each  side  of  the  car. 

The  great  cattle  markets  of  the  United  States 
are  Omaha,  Kansas  City,  and  Chicago.  Find 
these  cities. 

One   day  when   Ramon  was   about   fourteen 


HOW   OUR  MEAT  IS   SUPPLIED  23 

years  old,  his  father  told  him  that  he  was  going 
to  take  a  train  load  of  cattle  to  Chicago  and 
that  he  might  go  with  him.  It  was  a  happy 
time  for  Ramon,  you  may  be  sure,  for  he  was 
very  anxious  to  see  some  of  the  wonderful 
sights  his  father  had  told  him  about. 

At  last  the  day  when  they  were  to  start  on 
their  journey  arrived.  The  afternoon  before, 
the  cowboys  had  driven  the  cattle  to  the  rail- 
road so  as  to  load  them  early  in  the  morning. 
Soon  after  breakfast  Ramon  kissed  his  mother 
and  his  little  sister  good-by,  and  he  and  his 
father  rode  off  across  the  level  plain. 

Finding  the  cattle  already  loaded  in  the 
cars,  Ramon  and  his  father  were  soon  seated 
in  the  caboose,  rolling  over  the  miles  of  rail- 
road which  connected  them  with  Chicago. 
Whenever  the  train  stopped  for  a  few  min- 
utes, they  took  a  long  stick  and  went  from 
car  to  car  making  the  cattle  that  had  lain 
down  get  up,  so  that  they  might  not  be  in- 
jured by  the  others. 

When  bedtime  came,  they  made  their  beds 
on  the  benches  along  each  side  of  the  caboose, 


24  HOW   WE   ARE   FED 

which  are  covered  with  cushions.  As  they  had 
brought  blankets  with  them,  they  were  fairly 
comfortable. 

Ramon  did  not  sleep  very  soundly  the  first 
night.  The  engine  shrieked  from  time  to  time,, 
and  the  car  rocked  and  jolted  so  that  he  was 
afraid  of  falling  from  his  bed. 

The  next  day  they  reached  a  part  of  the 
country  where  great  cornfields  waved  in  the 


FIG.  10.  —  Bird's  Eye  View  of  Union  Stock  Yards,  Chicago. 

breeze.  The  leaves  had  already  turned  brown, 
and  golden  ears  of  grain  peeped  out  from  the 
ends  of  the  husks.  There  were  stubble  fields, 
too,  where  wheat  and  oats  had  been  harvested. 
The  country  became  more  thickly  settled  as 
they  went  on,  and  the  towns  were  nearer  to- 
gether. Streams  were  more  common,  and 
grass  and  timber  more  abundant.  The  young 


HOW   OUR  MEAT  IS   SUPPLIED  25 

traveler  wondered  why  this  was  so.  Can  you 
tell? 

Early  in  the  morning  of  the  fourth  day  the 
train  reached  Chicago.  After  much  switching 
and  backing  the  cars  were  run  into  the  Union 
Stock  Yards,  and  the  cattle  were  unloaded. 

Ramon  was  thoroughly  bewildered  by  what 
he  saw  and  heard.  Men  were  shouting  and 
cracking  whips ;  others  were  riding  up  and  down 
the  alleys  that  separate  the  yards ;  dogs  were 
barking  and  turning  the  animals  this  way  and 
that,  and  gates  were  swinging  back  and  fdrth. 

The  cattle  were  weighed  and  examined  to 
see  if  they  had  any  disease,  and  were  then 
placed  in  charge  of  a  commission  merchant  to 
be  sold.  Buyers  come  to  the  yards  and  bar- 
gain with  these  commission  merchants.  When 
an  unusually  large  number  of  cattle  come  in, 
the  prices  are  likely  to  fall ;  when  few  arrive, 
the  prices  rise. 

When  the  cattle  had  been  yarded,  Ramon's 
father  said  that  they  would  go  and  have 
breakfast.  In  the  afternoon  they  visited  the 
"  yards,"  and  the  slaughter  and  packing  houses. 


26 


HOW   WE   ARE   FED 


The  "yards  "  cover  about  a  square  mile  of  terri- 
tory. They  are  divided  into  countless  pens  or 
small  yards,  containing  sheds,  feeding  racks, 
and  watering  troughs. 

Ramon  asked  how  many  cattle  were  unloaded 
in  these  yards  daily.     His  father  handed  him  a 


EIG.  11. — Dressing  Beef. 

copy  of  the  Chicago  Live  Stock  World,  and  at 
the  top  of  the  first  column  he  read  that  on  the 
day  previous  there  had  been  received  18,500 
cattle,  35,000  hogs,  and  18,000  sheep.  He 
was  told  that  sometimes  the  receipts  are  much 
larger  than  this  and  sometimes  not  so  large. 


HOW  OUR  MEAT  IS  SUPPLIED  27 

They  followed  the  bodies  of  the  cattle  from 
the  slaughterhouses  where  they  are  dressed, 
into  the  cooling  rooms.  These  are  simply  great 
refrigerators.  Wagons  come  to  the  cooling 
rooms  and  haul  loads  of  the  meat  to  butcher 
shops,  hotels,  and  depots.  Within  a  few  hours 


FIG.  12.  —  Cooling  Beef. 

it  finds  its  way  to  smaller  cities  and  towns  in 
all  directions.  A  great  deal  of  meat  is  shipped 
even  to  Europe.  Why  does  not  Europe  pro- 
duce its  own  meat  ? 

When  the  meat  has  thoroughly  hardened  in 
the    cooling    rooms,  it    is    sent    to    the  curing 


28 


HOW   WE   ARE   FED 


rooms,  where  it  is  cut  up  and  packed.  Each 
person  here  does  his  particular  work  from 
morning  until  night. 

Ramon  learned,   to  his    surprise,  that    every 
part  of  the  animal  is  used.     Hair,  hide,  horns, 


FIG.  13.  — Splitting  Backbone  of  Hogs. 

hoofs,  teeth,  bones,  and  even  blood,  are  made 
use  of. 

Most  of  the  hogs  which  enter  the  great  meat- 
packing cities  are  raised  in  the  corn  belt. 

The  sheep  need  much  pasturage,  and  so  the 
largest  flocks  are  found  in  the  Western  and 


HOW  OUR  MEAT  IS   SUPPLIED 


29 


Southwestern  states.  A  single  herder  may 
take  care  of  several  thousand  sheep.  His 
faithful  companions  and  helpers  are  intelligent 
shepherd  dogs.  After  a  great  flock  of  sheep 
has  fed  on  an  area,  hardly  a  green  thing  is 


FIG.  14.  —  Curing  Pork  in  Salt. 

left.  The  people  in  the  part  of  the  West 
where  there  is  little  rainfall,  object  to  the 
pasturing  of  sheep  around  the  head  waters  of 
streams,  because  when  the  vegetation  is  re- 
moved the  water  runs  off  too  quickly. 

In    the    evening    our    friends    watched    the 


30 


HOW  WE   ARE   FED 


men,  women,  arid  children  march  out  of  the 
"yards."  They  were  told  that  not -less  than 
thirty-five  thousand  persons  were  employed  in 
the  various  establishments.  There  is  but  one 
city  in  Colorado  which  contains  so  many  people. 


FIG.  15.  —  Chopping  Sausage  Meat. 

As  they  sat  at  breakfast  next  morning, 
Ramon  wondered  how  many  of  the  people  of 
Chicago  were  eating  steaks  from  cattle  which 
he  had  seen  on  his  father's  ranch.  The 
thought  was  a  new  one  to  him.  His  trip 
had  shown  him  that  the  cattlemen  who  lived 


HOW   OUR  MEAT  IS  SUPPLIED 


31 


and  worked  on  those  far-away  plains  were 
doing  their  part  in  supplying  people  all  over 
our  country  with  meat.  Their  lonely  life. 


FIG.  16. — Packing  Poultry. 


with  all  of  its  disadvantages,  now  had  a  new 
meaning  for  him,  and  he  went  back  to  his 
Western  home  content  with  it,  yet  very  glad  to 
have  had  this  glimpse  of  another  side  of  life. 


MARKET   GARDENING 

Think  of  the  immense  quantities  of  fruits  and 
vegetables  that  are  used  daily  on  the  tables  of  a 
great  city  such  as  New  York  or  Chicago.  As 
we  travel  up  and  down  the  streets  of  any  great 
city,  we  see  rows  of  buildings,  sometimes  built 
in  solid  blocks  and  sometimes  a  little  distance 
apart.  Some  have  trees  and  small  lawns  in 
front  of  them ;  others  are  without  even  this 
touch  of  nature.  Nowhere,  except  in  the  out- 
skirts, do  we  find  gardens. 

These  people  depend  upon  others  to  furnish 
them  witli  their  vegetable  food. 

Now  let  us  make  some  excursions  into  the 
region  surrounding  one  of  these  cities.  For 
miles  and  miles  we  see  on  every  hand  truck 
farms  or  mai'ket  gardens.  The  main  business 
of  those  who  live  in  these  districts  is  to  furnish 
food  for  the  people  of  the  city,  so  that  the 
latter  may  devote  their  time  to  their  various 
occupations. 

32 


MARKET   GARDENING  33 

We  see  growing  potatoes,  cabbages,  tomatoes, 
beans,  peas,  squashes,  turnips,  onions,  sweet 
corn,  celery,  melons,  and  many  other  things. 
Usually  all  of  these  will  be  found  in  one  garden, 
but  sometimes  the  farmer  raises  only  a  few 
kinds,  or  perhaps  but  one. 

Market  gardening  is  very  common  in  Ger- 
many, Holland,  Italy,  China,  and  in  other 
densely  populated  countries.  Therefore  we 
often  find  people  who  have  come  from  these 
countries  to  America  engaged  in  this  business. 
Chinese  gardeners  are  seldom  seen  in  the 
East,  but  on  the  Pacific  coast  they  raise  most 
of  the  vegetables  used  in  the  cities  and 
towns. 

In  the  early  spring,  before  the  ground  is 
warm  enough  to  make  seeds  grow,  the  gardener 
starts  his  plants  in  "hotbeds."  These  are 
long  wooden  boxes,  or  frames,  without  bottoms, 
covered  with  glass.  They  are  usually  placed 
on  the  south  side  of  some  building  or  high 
fence.  The  glass  covers  allow  the  warm  sun- 
shine to  enter  the  "  beds "  freely,  but  they 
prevent  the  rapid  escape  of  the  heat.  You 


34  HOW  WE   ARE  FED 

see  now  why  they  are  called  "hotbeds."  They 
are  like  small  greenhouses. 

A  little  later  in  the  spring  the  fields  are 
thoroughly  cultivated  and  the  plants  trans- 
planted. Of  course  only  the  vegetables  desired 
for  the  early  market  are  started  in  this  way. 
What  advantage  is  there  in  having  the  vege- 
tables ready  for  the  market  very  early  in  the 
season  ? 

Vegetable  farming  is  not  easy  work,  although 
it  is  a  pleasure  to  see  things  grow  day  by  day 
as  you  care  for  them,  and  as  nature  supplies  her 
sunshine  and  her  rain.  The  fields  must  be  cul- 
tivated almost  constantly,  to  keep  the  soil  loose, 
as  well  as  to  remove  the  weeds.  Much  of  the 
weeding  has  to  be  done  by  hand,  which  is 
tedious  work. 

We  want  our  vegetables  fresh  every  .morning ; 
and  as  the  truck  farms  are  at  some  distance  from 
the  city,  the  farmer  must  load  up  his  wagon 
the  night  before.  Of  course  much  produce  is 
sent  to  the  cities  on  trains,  but  where  farmers 
live  near  enough  to  deliver  it  themselves,  their 
crops  are  more  profitable  to  them.  Why  ? 


E 

OF 


MARKET  GARDENING  37 

Everything  is  put  in  readiness  before  dark ; 
and  while  others  are  still  in  bed,  the  farmer 
mounts  his  wagon  to  start  toward  the  sleeping 
city.  I  have  often  ridden  ten  or  fifteen  miles 
on  such  a  load  before  the  stars  faded  away. 

It  is  a  novel  experience.  At  first  the  night 
seems  strangely  still,  but  soon  you  are  able  to 
distinguish  many  voices  coming  from  various 
places.  The  frogs  croak  from  the  ponds  by  the 
roadside;  crickets  and  locusts  send  their  shrill 
notes  from  grass  and  tree ;  a  night  owl  startles 
you  by  his  dismal  hoot ;  the  lamps  of  the  fire- 
flies gleam,  then  disappear  only  to  shine  out 
again  a  little  farther  on. 

At  last  a  faint  glow  appears  in  the  eastern 
sky,  which  grows  brighter  and  brighter  until 
the  shining  face  of  the  sun  is  pushed  above  the 
horizon.  Do  you  not  think  such  a  ride  would 
be  more  enjoyable  than  a  street  car  ride  ? 

In  the  cities  there  are  market  places  where 
produce  from  the  country  is  taken.  In  Chicago 
there  is  a  very  busy  street  where  much  of  the 
buying  and  selling  is  done.  Study  the  picture 
carefully.  Here  the  buyers  from  hotels,  restau- 


3&  HOW   WE   ARE   FED 

rants,  and  stores,  as  well  as  the  men  who  wish  to 
peddle  the  produce  from  house  to  house,  go  for 
their  daily  supplies.  There  are  also  commis- 
sion merchants  whose  stores  are  on  this  street. 
They  sell  the  produce  for  those  who  ship  it  to 
the  city  by  train. 

We  go  to  the  stores  and  get  what  we  want 
each  day,  or  the  peddlers  bring  it  to  the  door. 
You  see  how  necessary  it  is  to  have  special 
workers  to  supply  us  with  the  different  kinds 
of  food.  We  consider  it  very  important  that 
we  should  have  vegetables  and  fruits  fresh 
daily.  The  work  of  supplying  us  with  this 
food  is  very  important.  Remember  that  those 
who  till  the  soil  are  entitled  to  as  great  respect 
as  are  those  who  do  not  work  with  their  hands. 
Contact  with  nature  makes  men  and  women 
better,  and  many  of  the  noblest  souls  that  the 
world  has  known  have  lived  in  the  country  and 
plowed,  planted,  and  harvested  the  products 
of  the  soil. 


Market  Scene.     Chicago. 


Market  Scene.     New  York. 


DAIRY  PRODUCTS 

Uncle  Ben  lives  on  a  dairy  farm  in  the  west- 
ern part  of  New  York  State.  It  is  a  beautiful 
rolling  country  with  cultivated  fields,  woodland, 
and  pastures,  and  here  and  there  a  sparkling 
stream  winding  its  way  through  the  lowlands. 
The  farmhouses  are  large  and  well  built,  and 
are  surrounded  by  grand  old  maple,  beech,  and 
elm  trees.  Most  of  the  barns  are  painted  red 
with  white  trimmings. 

There  are  many  dairy  farms  in  the  neighbor- 
hood. Some  of  the  farmers  send  their  milk  to 
the  towns  to  be  used  directly,  some  sell  it  to 
creameries,  and  some  to  cheese  factories. 

Last  summer  I  spent  my  vacation  on  Uncle 
Ben's  farm,  and  Cousin  Frank  and  I  had  happy 
times,  you  may  be  sure. 

Every  day,  just  before  sundown,  we  went  to 
the  pasture  for  the  cows.  There  were  about 
twenty-five  of  them,  and  they  always  seemed 

41 


42  HOW   WE   ARE   FED 

perfectly  contented  after  the  long  day  of  feast- 
ing on  rich  grass  and  clover. 

After  we  drove  them  into  the  barnyard  Uncle 
Ben  helped  us  fasten  them  in  their  stanchions 
in  the  barn.  Then  the  men  brought  the  bright 
pails  and  cans  to  begin  milking.  Cousin  Frank 
and  I  always  helped,  although  he  can  milk 
much  faster  than  I.  Some  of  the  cows  gave 
but  two  or  three  quarts,  while  others  gave  as 
many  gallons. 

We  strained  the  milk  into  cans  holding  eight 
gallons  each,  and  put  them  into  tanks  of  water 
to  cool.  After  milking  w\as  finished  we  turned 
the  cattle  into  the  barnyard  for  the  night. 

In  the  morning  we  commenced  milking  about 
sunrise.  After  breakfast  the  cans  were  loaded 
into  a  spring  wagon  and  Uncle  Ben  drove  to  the 
depot.  Here  they  were  put  on  the  "milk  train/' 
which  took  them  to  the  city. 

Many  other  people  sent  milk  on  this  same 
train.  It  was  sent  to  bakeries,  to  hotels  and 
restaurants,  and  to  milkmen,  who  delivered  it 
from  house  to  house.  Usually  the  milkmen  put 
the  milk  into  pint  or  quart  bottles  for  people 


DAIRY   PRODUCTS  43 

who  like  to  have  it  in  that  form.  Uncle  Ben 
told  us  that  much  of  the  milk  that  is  sent  to 
New  York  City  is  bottled  before  it  is  sent.  The 
bottling  is  done  by  machinery.  He  also  told 
us  that,  because  of  the  great  importance  of  hav- 
ing pure  milk,  there  are,  in  all  cities,  inspectors 
who  carefully  examine  the  milk  and  report  to 
the  Board  of  Health.  The  cows  also  are  in- 
spected, and  if  any  are  sick,  they  are  usually 
killed. 

Each  evening  some  one  drove  to  the  depot 
again  to  get  empty  cans  which  the  milk  train 
had  brought  home.  These  were  always  care- 
fully washed  in  hot  water  before  being  used 
again. 


BUTTER   MAKING 

One  day,  after  I  had  been  on  the  farm  about 
a  week,  Uncle  Ben  took  Frank  and  me  to  the 
creamery.  A  creamery  is  a  place  where  the 
milk  and  cream  are  separated  and  butter  is 
made. 

We  found  several  wagonloads  of  milk  being 
unloaded.  The  milk  was  weighed  as  it  was 
received,  for  it  is  sold  by  weight. 

The  milk  was  then  strained  into  a  large  gal- 
vanized iron  tub,  from  which  a  pipe  carried  it 
into  a  circular  machine  called  the  separator. 
The  separator  revolves  rapidly,  throwing  the 
milk,  which  is  heavier  than  the  cream,  to  the 
outer  edge,  where  it  passes  through  small  holes 
into  a  compartment  by  itself.  The  cream  rises 
along  the  center  and  passes  through  another  set 
of  openings  into  a  special  compartment.  A  pipe 
carries  it  to  a  large  vat,  while  another  pipe 
conveys  the  milk  to  large  tanks. 

44 


BUTTER  MAKING  45 

Uncle  Ben  told  me  that  when  people  make 
their  own  butter,  they  must  wait  for  the  cream 
to  rise  on  the  milk.  The  cream  is  then  skimmed 
off,  and  the  milk  is  called  skimmed  milk.  Al- 
though the  milk  in  the  creamery  is  not  skimmed, 
the  same  name  is  used  for  it. 

I  asked  if  the  skimmed  milk  was  used  for 
anything.  Uncle  Ben  gave  me  a  cupful  of  it 
to  taste.  It  was  very  good.  He  then  told  me 
that  the  separator  takes  out  only  the  part 
needed  in  making  butter,  leaving  all  of  the 
sugar.  I  did  not  know  before  that  milk  con- 
tains sugar. 

The  farmers  take  home  loads  of  this  milk  to 
feed  it  to  their  hogs.  For  each  hundred  pounds 
of  milk  delivered,  they  get  back  seventy-five 
pounds  of  skimmed  milk,  besides  the  pay  for 
their  cream. 

The  creamery  man  told  me  that  he  made 
from  four  to  six  pounds  of  butter  from  one 
hundred  pounds  of  milk. 

The  cream  remains  in  the  large  vat  about 
twenty-four  hours  before  it  is  churned.  The 
churn,  as  you  see  by  the  picture,  is  a  great 


46  HOW   WE    ARE   FED 

barrel  made  to  revolve  by  machinery.  It  takes 
from  thirty-five  minutes  to  one  hour,  to  churn. 
The  man  told  me  that  I  might  look  at  the  book 
in  which  he  kept  the  record  of  the  churning.  I 
saw  that  he  made  from  two  hundred  fifty  to 
six  hundred  pounds  of  butter  at  a  churning. 
He  said  that  some  churns  would  produce  more 
than  one  thousand  pounds  at  a  churning. 

Not  all  of  the  cream  is  made  into  butter. 
There  is  left  in  the  bottom  of  the  churn  a  liquid 
called  buttermilk.  This  is  drawn  off,  and  the 
butter  is  washed  and  worked  before  being  taken 
out  of  the  churn.  The  working  is  done  by  means 
of  paddles  in  the  churn.  It  continues  for  six  or 
eight  minutes  and  squeezes  the  liquid  out  of  the 
butter. 

While  the  butter  is  being  worked,  it  is  salted. 
Some  of  the  butter  is  unsalted,  but  most  of  it 
is  salted.  When  butter  is  made  in  the  home, 
it  must  be  churned  by  hand.  Only  a  few  pounds 
at  a  time  can  be  made  in  this  way. 

When  the  butter  was  taken  out  of  the  churn, 
the  men  packed  it  solidly  in  wooden  boxes  about 
two  feet  square  and  four  inches  deep.  The  bottom 


A  Separator. 


A  Churn. 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


BUTTER  MAKING  49 

of  each  box  consisted  of  strips  as  wide  as  a 
square  of  butter.  These  were  held  together 
by  a  clamp,  and  the  sides  were  hooked  to  the 
bottom  and  to  one  another.  When  the  butter 
is  to  be  cut  into  squares,  these  sides  are  re- 
moved and  zinc  ones  take  their  places.  In  these 
there  are  slits  running  from  top  to  bottom. 
Through  these  slits  a  wire  saw  is  run,  and  so 
the  butter  is  quickly  cut  into  one  or  two  pound 
squares.  The  butter  is  then  wrapped  in  fancy 
papers  upon  which  the  name  of  the  butter  or 
of  the  creamery  is  stamped. 

Of  course  some  of  the  butter  is  packed  in 
wooden  tubs  and  shipped  in  that  form.  This 
butter  is  a  little  cheaper  than  that  put  up  in 
squares. 


I  was  so  much  pleased  with  my  visit  to  the 
creamery,  that  Uncle  Ben  promised  to  show  me 
how  cheese  is  made.  So  one  morning  just  after 
breakfast  he,  Cousin  Frank,  and  I  started  out. 
After  a  pleasant  ride  of  about  five  miles  we 
reached  the  factory. 

The  first  process  here  was  the  same  as  that 
at  the  creamery.  After  the  milk  was  weighed 
it  was  run  into  great  zinc-lined  vats.  There 
were  four  of  these  in  the  factory,  each  of 
which  held  about  five  thousand  pounds. 

Uncle  Ben  explained  that  the  milk  must 
curdle  before  cheese  can  be  made.  In  order  to 
make  it  curdle  quickly,  a  little  less  than  a 
pound  of  a  substance  called  rennet  wTas  put 
into  each  vat. 

A  man  worked  at  each  vat  with  a  long 
wooden  rake,  stirring  the  milk  constantly.  I 
saw  a  glass  tube  standing  in  the  milk  and 
asked  what  it  was.  Uncle  Ben  told  me  to 

50 


CHEESE  51 

look  at  it  closely.  I  saw  that  it  was  a  ther- 
mometer, and  that  it  registered  eighty  degrees. 
A  little  while  after  I  looked  again,  when  it 
showed  a  temperature  of  ninety  degrees.  The 
milk  is  kept  warm,  so  as  to  help  it  to  curdle 
quickly. 

In  about  an  hour  I  could  see  the  curd 
very  plainly,  but  the  men  kept  on  stirring  and 
cutting  it.  Presently  one  of  them  carried  a 
piece  of  the  curd  to  a  table.  He  heated  a  small 
iron  rod  and  touched  it  with  the  curd.  When 
he  pulled  the  curd  away,  little  threads  were 
drawn  out  to  the  length  of  half  an  inch  or 
more.  This  he  called  the  "  acid  test,"  which 
showed  that  the  curd  was  in  the  right  condi- 
tion to  be  made  into  cheese. 

Of  course  only  a  part  of  the  milk  had  turned 
into  curd;  the  rest  was  whey,  that  was  drawn 
off  and  run  into  tanks.  Each  man  who  had 
delivered  one  hundred  pounds  of  milk  was 
given  a  check  for  seventy-five  pounds  of  the 
whey.  It  is  fed  to  hogs.  About  two  hours 
from  the  time  that  the  milk  was  put  into  the 
vats,  the  whey  was  drawn  off. 


52  HOW  WE   ARE   FED 

One  of  the  men  now  took  a  long  knife  and 
cut  the  curd  into  oblong  cakes.  These  he  fre- 
quently lifted  and  turned  over.  After  contin- 
uing this  for  about  twenty  minutes,  the  pieces 
of  curd  were  put  into  a  small  mill,  placed  on  a 
board  over  the  vat,  and  the  curd  was  chopped 
into  strips  from  one  to  six  inches  long  and  from 
one-half  an  inch  to  an  inch  thick.  Salt  was  scat- 
tered over  the  mass  by  one  man,  while  another 
pitched  it  about  with  a  three-pronged  wooden 
fork.  The  man  told  me  that  he  used  three 
pounds  of  salt  to  each  thousand  pounds  of  milk. 

Next,  a  piece  of  cloth  was  placed  on  a  board 
about  sixteen  inches  square.  Two  circular  metal 
frames  or  bands,  about  six  inches  high,  were 
fitted  one  within  the  other  and  placed  on  the 
cloth.  The  frame  was  filled  with  curd,  covered 
by  a  cloth,  and  another  set  placed  on  top  of  it 
until  there  were  five.  They  were  then  put  on 
a  table  directly  under  a  block  which  was  fas- 
tened to  a  screw.  By  turning  the  screw  the 
block  was  pressed  against  the  top  board,  and 
so  each  frame  of  curd  was  pressed.  I  saw  the 
whey  running  out  as  the  squeezing  went  on. 


CHEESE  53 

The  superintendent  told  us  that  the  curd  would 
be  left  in  the  press  until  the  next  day. 

We  were  then  taken  into  the  room  where  the 
cheese  "ripens."  Here  we  saw  large  racks  reach- 
ing nearly  to  the  ceiling,  filled  with  double  rows 
of  cheeses.  The  smallest  ones  weighed  but 
three  pounds,  while  the  largest  weighed  fifty 
pounds.  It  may  take  but  a  few  days  and  it 
may  take  many  months  to  "  ripen "  a  cheese. 
It  depends  upon  the  flavor  wanted.  The  man 
said  that  in  England  "  strong "  cheese  is  gen- 
erally liked,  while  in  our  country  ".mild"  cheese 
is  preferred. 

I  asked  how  much  cheese  five  thousand  pounds 
of  milk  would  make,  and  was  told  that  it  would 
make  between  four  and  five  hundred  pounds. 

On  the  way  home  Uncle  Ben  told  us  that 
although  our  country  is  a  great  dairy  country, 
we  import  certain  kinds  of  cheese  from  Europe. 
He  told  us  how  the  Swiss  people  pasture  their 
cattle  on  the  steep  mountain  sides,  and  that  in 
every  little  mountain  valley  cheese  is  made,  some 
of  which  finds  its  way  over  the  mountains  and 
across  the  sea  to  the  United  States. 


THE  FISHING  INDUSTRY 

Have  you  ever  stood  by  the  side  of  a  stream 
and  watched  the  fish  dart  from  one  shadow  of 
overhanging  rock  into  another,  or  swim  lazily  at 
the  bottom  of  some  deep  pool  ?  How  gracefully 
they  move  and  turn  !  How  like  water  jewels 
they  flash  as  the  sunlight  falls  upon  them ! 

Most  streams  and  lakes,  like  the  ocean,  contain 
fish.  So  we  have  fresh-water  and  salt-water 
fish.  There  are  a  few  bodies  of  water  so  full  of 
salt  that  fish  cannot  live  in  them.  Do  you  know 
of  any  such  bodies  of  water  ? 

Most  of  the  fish  used  as  food  come  from  the 
ocean.  In  this,  and  in  most  other  countries, 
there  are  many  men  who  do  nothing  but  fish,  in 
order  that  other  people  may  be  supplied  with 
this  sort  of  food.  They  do  not  depend  upon 
hook  and  line  alone,  but  use  nets  also. 

Nets  are  great  sacks  made  of  cord,  knotted 
or  woven  together  in  such  a  way  as  to  leave 

61 


THE   FISHING   INDUSTRY 


55 


spaces  or  meshes.  These  meshes  are  not  big 
enough  to  allow  large  fish  to  escape.  Sometimes 
the  fishermen  go  out  in  rowboats  some  distance 


FIG.  18.  —  Drying  JNels. 

from  shore  and  then  throw  the  net  into  the 
water.  Corks  or  floats  keep  the  upper  edge  of 
the  net  near  the  surface,  while  weights  hold  the 
lower  edge  on  the  bottom.  Ropes  are  fastened 


56  HOW   WE   ARE   FED 

to  each  end,  and  so  it  is  drawn  toward  the  shore. 
How  the  fishermen  wish  that  they  could  see  to 
the  bottom  of  the  restless  water  and  know  what 
their  harvest  is  to  be !  When  the  boats  have 
almost  reached  the  shore,  horses  are  sometimes 
driven  into  the  water  and  hitched  to  the  ropes. 
At  last  the  net  is  dragged  out  upon  the  sands 
and  the  uncertainty  is  past. 

Look  !  Within  the  folds  of  the  net  is  a  count- 
less number  of  fishes,  each  jumping,  squirming, 
wriggling,  trying  to  get  back  to  its  ocean 
home.  They  are  of  many  sizes,  shapes,  and 
colors.  Those  not  good  for  food,  together 
with  the  smallest  ones,  are  thrown  back  into 
the  water. 

Sometimes  a  net  called  a  "dip-net"  is 
dropped  from  a  fishing  schooner  and  drawn 
about  a  "  school "  of  fish.  I  have  seen  many 
barrels  of  fish  brought  up  at  one  time  in  this 
way. 

The  fishermen  keep  a  close  watch  for  the 
appearance  of  these  "  schools,"  you  may  be  sure. 
Whales  and  dolphins  pursue  them,  and  gulls  and 
cormorants  circle  overhead,  for  they,  too,  are 


THE   FISHING  INDUSTRY 


57 


fishers.  Their  appearance  helps  the  men  to  tell 
where  the  "  schools  "  are.  There  is  a  great  rush 
for  the  fishing  grounds  when  they  are  sighted. 
The  white-sailed  schooners  skim  over  the  waters 
almost  like  a  flock  of  birds. 


FIG.  19.  — A  Fishing  Schooner. 

Large  quantities  of  fish  are  caught  by  a 
method  called  trawl  fishing .  This  may  be  carried 
on  miles  from  the  shore.  How  do  you  suppose 
it  is  done  ?  To  a  very  long  and  strong  line, 
many  shorter  ones,  each  with  a  hook  at  the  end, 


58 


HOW  WE   ARE   FED 


are  attached.  These  lines,  to  which  large  buoys 
are  fastened,  are  left  in  the  water  for  several 
hours,  and  then  fishermen  in  flat-bottomed  boats 
called  dories  row  out  from  the  schooner  and 
examine  them.  The  lines  are  then  reset  and 


FIG.  20.  —  Splitting  Codfish. 

the  fish  taken  to  the  schooner  to  be  dressed. 
This  is  a  common  method  of  catching  codfish, 
which  is  carried  on  during  summer  and  win- 
ter alike.  Storms  and  fogs  are  likely  to 
occur  while  the  men  are  out  in  their  little 


THE   FISHING   INDUSTRY  59 

boats,  making  their  work  full  of  danger  as 
well  as  of  hardship. 

Many  of  the  fish  are  packed  in  ice  and  sold 
.fresh,  while  others  are  cured  on  the  boats  or 
on  shore.  Some  of  the  fishing  schooners  carry 
great  quantities  of  salt  when  they  start  out  on  a 
trip.  The  fish  are  dressed  and  packed  in  this. 
Sometimes  they  are  packed  in  brine,  and  along 
the  shores  of  some  countries  they  are  strung  on 
poles  to  dry. 

Codfish  are  dried  in  great  quantities  along  the 
New  England  coast  by  placing  them  on  frames 
made  of  strips  of  wood  and  raised  a  little  above 
the  wharf,  so  that  the  air  can  circulate  freely. 
When  the  skin  and  bones  are  removed  and  the 
flesh  cut  into  strips,  it  is  called  "  shredded " 
codfish. 

The  principal  food-fish  are  the  cod,  mackerel, 
herring,  halibut,  shad,  salmon,  sardines,  and 
whitefish.  Whitefish  are  caught  in  the  Great 
Lakes.  To  this  list  the  lobster  may  be  added, 
although  it  is  not  a  fish. 

A  common  method  of  catching  lobsters  is  to 
sink  a  box  made  of  lath  to  the  bottom,  where 


60 


HOW   WE   ARE   FED 


they  crawl  about  on  the  rocks.  A  fish  head  is 
placed  in  the  box  for  bait.  The  lobsters  crawl 
in  and  are  likely  to  remain  until  the  box  is 
examined. 

Lobster  steamers,  fitted  up  with  tanks  contain- 


FIG.  2].  — Drying  Codfish. 

ing  salt  water,  run  from  Nova  Scotia  and  New- 
foundland to  Boston  and  New  York.  Here  those 
not  wanted  are  placed  on  cars  containing  similar 
tanks  and  sent  to  interior  cities.  In  this  way 
fresh  lobsters  are  served  thousands  of  miles 
from  where  they  were  caught. 


THE   FISHING  INDUSTRY  61 

A  lobster  that  would  cost  us  from  twenty-five 
to  seventy-five  cents  brings  the  fisherman  not 
more  than  ten  cents. 

.  Along  our  New  England  coast  there  are  many 
towns  engaged  extensively  in  fishing.  Portland, 
Gloucester,  Boston,  and  Provincetown  are  among 
the  number.  Gloucester  is  the  most  important 
fishing  town  in  the  United  States.  From  it 
fishing  schooners  go  as  far  as  Newfoundland, 
Greenland,  Iceland,  and  even  to  the  coast  of 
Ireland.  There  are  also  important  fisheries  on 
the  Pacific  coast,  from  San  Francisco  to  Alaska. 
Here  the  salmon  are  taken  in  great  numbers. 
They  weigh  from  twenty  to  one  hundred  pounds. 
The  fish  are  canned  and  shipped  to  all  parts  of 
the  country.  Besides  being  caught  in  nets  and 
traps  and  on  lines  many  are  caught  in  "  fish 
wheels."  These  are  fastened  to  the  stern  of  a 
boat  and  revolve  in  the  water.  The  fish  are 
caught  in  pockets  and  dropped  in  the  boat  as 
the  wheel  brings  them  up  over  it. 

There  are  very  extensive  fisheries  along  the 
shores  of  the  British  Isles  and  on  the  western 
coast  of  Europe.  Fishing  is  the  chief  industry 


62  HOW   WE   ARE   FED 

in  the  towns  along  the  coast  of  Norway.  The 
air  is  full  of  the  odor  of  fish,  while  drying  fish, 
nets,  and  boats  are  everywhere  in  sight. 

Although  the  supply  of  fish  in  the  ocean  is 
very  great,  it  is  diminishing,  especially  near  the 
shore.  Most  countries  now  pay  considerable  at- 
tention to  the  raising  of  both  fresh  and  salt  water 
fishes,  and  they  have  passed  laws  regulating 
fishing.  Eggs  are  hatched  in  great  hatcheries, 
from  which  the  young  fish  are  taken  where  they 
are  most  needed. 

The  great  ocean  is  free  to  all  to  sail  over  or 
fish  in  at  will.  There  is  a  narrow  strip  along 
the  shore  three  miles  wide,  which  belongs  to  the 
country  which  it  borders.  The  men  of  other 
countries  are  not  allowed  to  fish  there. 

The  fisherman  is  a  brave  and  sturdy  man. 
His  life  is  full  of  danger.  He  battles  constantly 
with  the  winds  and  the  waves.  Fogs  may 
hide  the  sharp  rocks  which  seem  to  wait  for  a 
chance  to  destroy  his  little  vessel.  Sometimes 
icebergs  or  great  ocean  steamers  sink  his  boat 
and  he  is  never  seen  again. 

When  storms  are  raging  and  night  has  settled 


THE   FISHING   INDUSTRY  63 

over  sea  and  land,  and  angry  waves  are  dash- 
ing themselves  into  foam  against  the  shore, 
the  mothers,  wives,  and  children  look  anxiously 
from  their  cottage  windows  toward  the  sea,  and 
pray  that  their  loved  ones  may  return  to  them 
in  safety. 


OYSTER  FARMING 

It  sounds  strange  to  speak  of  farming  in  the 
ocean,  but  there  are  many  and  large  oyster 
farms  all  along  our  coast.  Some  of  these  farms 
are  covered  by  water  all  of  the  time  and  some 
are  uncovered  when  the  tide  is  low.  Oyster 
farms  are  far  more  profitable  than  are  those 
upon  which  corn  and  wheat  are  raised. 

This  is  a  new  industry  in  our  country  because 
civilized  people  have  not  lived  here  very  long, 
but  it  is  a  very  old  one  in  some  parts  of  the 
world.  As  long  ago  as  the  seventh  century  a 
Roman  knight  raised  oysters  for  the  market, 
and  it  is  said  that  the  business  made  him  very 
wealthy. 

You  will  understand  better  about  the  cultiva- 
tion of  oysters,  if  I  tell  you  first  how  they 
live  and  grow  in  their  natural  homes. 

Except   during   the    first   few    days   of   their 

04 


OYSTER  FARMING  65 

lives,  oysters  are  prisoners.  They  cannot  move 
about  freely  from  place  to  place  as  fishes  and 
most  animals  can,  but  they  are  attached  to 
rocks,  to  the  shells  of  their  dead  relatives,  and 
to  other  objects.  How,  then,  do  you  suppose 
they  get  their  food?  They  grow  in  immense 
numbers,  and  they  crowd  one  another  more  than 
people  do  in  the  tenement  houses  in  our  great 
cities.  In  fact  most  of  them  are  soon  crowded 
out,  and  they  die,  leaving  room  for  the  rest  to 
grow  upon  their  empty  homes.  In  this  way 
the  oyster  beds  spread  out. 

These  oyster  beds  are  not  found  in  very  deep 
water,  but  rather  along  the  shore,  generally  near 
the  mouth  of  some  river.  As  I  have  told  you, 
they  often  live  where  they  are  uncovered  when 
the  tide  goes  out.  You  can  see  from  this  that 
it  is  not  very  difficult  to  gather  oysters,  so  that, 
partly  on  this  account,  man  has  used  them  for 
food  for  ages. 

When  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  landed  on  the 
shores  of  New  England,  they  found  that  the 
Indians  used  oysters  very  commonly.  All  along 
the  coast  were  great  heaps  of  the  shells.  At 


66  HOW    WE   ARE    FED 

the  very  first  Thanksgiving  dinner  given  in 
America,  oysters  were  served. 

Oysters  used  to  be  so  plentiful  on  these 
natural  beds  that  they  were  very  cheap.  In 
some  places  where  the  winter  weather  was  cold 
enough  to  freeze  the  water  along  the  shore, 
people  cut  holes  in  the  ice  and  gathered  them 
by  means  of  long-handled  rakes. 

In  a  single  year  an  oyster  will  produce  more 
than  a  million  young  ones.  Just  think  of  it ! 
If  all  of  this  family  grew  up,  they  would  fill  a 
room  fourteen  feet  in  each  dimension. 

These  young  oysters  are  very  small.  They 
are  called  "  spat."  Most  of  them  are  drifted 
away  by  waves  and  currents,  or  devoured  by 
larger  sea  animals.  The  few  that  escape  soon 
attach  themselves  to  some  object,  so  getting  a 
chance  to  begin  the  battle  of  life. 

If  oysters  are  caught  at  all  times  of  the  year 
it  does  not  give  them  a  chance  to  produce  their 
young,  and  this,  as  well  as  catching  the  young 
ones  themselves,  has  destroyed  many  of  the 
natural  beds.  In  order  to  keep  up  the  supply 
of  this  food  men  commenced  oyster  farming. 


OYSTER   FARMING  67 

You  see  how  our  daily  needs  and  desires  lead 
to  the  establishment  of  great  industries. 

The  oyster  farmer  prepares  his  farm  in 
various  ways.  He  places  clean  oyster  shells, 
stones,  trays,  bundles  of  sticks,  and  other  things 
on  the  bottom,  so  that  the  oysters  may  find 
something  to  which  to  attach  themselves.  Then 
he  places  the  young  oysters  or  "spat"  on  these 
objects.  When  trays  are  used,  several  are 
placed  one  upon  another  and  bound  together 
by  means  of  a  chain.  These  trays  are  taken 
up  from  time  to  time  in  order  to  gather  the 
oysters  that  are  ready  for  market. 

Stones  are  sometimes  piled  on  the  bottom 
and  the  "  spat "  are  placed  in  the  crevices  be- 
tween them.  Often  stakes  are  planted  in  a 
somewhat  circular  form.  Cords  are  attached 
to  the  stakes,  to  which  bundles  of  sticks  are 
fastened  in  such  a  way  as  to  keep  them  a  little 
above  the  bottom.  Young  oysters  attach  them- 
selves to  these  sticks,  which  may  be  drawn  up 
when  the  proper  time  comes. 

Shells  are  used  more  commonly  than  other 
things.  They  are  taken  from  the  restaurants 


68  HOW  WE   ARE   FED 

and  hotels  to  the  farms  in  boat  loads,  to  be 
scattered  over  the  bottom. 

The  young  oysters  grow  at  very  different 
rates.  In  two  years  they  may  grow  to  be  six 
inches  in  length,  or  it  may  take  several  years  to 
reach  that  size.  They  grow  more  rapidly  on 
the  artificial  beds,  and  are  better  in  quality  also. 
The  starfish  is  one  of  the  greatest  enemies  of 
the  oyster,  large  numbers  of  which  it  destroys 
every  year. 

During  the  fishing  season  the  oyster  men  go 
to  the  beds  in  their  bgats  and  scoop  the  oysters 
up  from  the  bottom.  This  is  called  dredging. 
The  scoops  with  their  loads  of  oysters  are  drawn 
to  the  deck  of  the  boat  by  machinery.  Some- 
times the  oysters  are  gathered  by  means  of  long 
tongs. 

As  the  oysters  are  usually  in  clusters,  these 
have  to  be  broken  up.  For  this  purpose  a  sort 
of  a  hammer  known  as  a  culling  iron  is  used. 
The  oysters  are  broken  apart  and  sorted.  Some- 
times the  oyster  man  makes  three  grades  and 
sometimes  four. 

Oysters  are  not  the  only  things  drawn  up  in 


OYSTER   FARMING  69 

the  dredge.  Starfish,  lobsters,  and  various 
kinds  of  fishes  are  gathered  in.  The  starfish 
are  killed  and  the  rest  thrown  back. 

The  oysters  are  heaped  up  in  great  piles  on 
the  deck  of  the  boat.  Sacks  and  barrels  are 
filled  with  them,  and  many  car  loads  are 
shipped  daily  from  the  cities  near  the  fishing 
grounds.  Chesapeake  Bay  is  the  center  of  the 
oyster  industry  in  our  country.  Find  it.  There 
are  oyster  beds,  however,  all  along  both  the 
Atlantic  and  the  Pacific  coasts. 

Great  quantities  of  oysters  are  canned  near 
where  they  are  caught.  Getting  them  out  of 
their  shells  is  not  an  easy  matter.  For  this 
purpose  a  knife  is  used.  This  work  is  called  in 
the  South  "  shucking  oysters."  Canning  oys- 
ters is  an  important  industry  in  the  city  of 
Baltimore.  Have  you  ever  seen  cans  of  oysters 
that  came  from  there  ? 


A  RICE   FIELD 

When  you  do  not  feel  quite  satisfied  with 
your  breakfast,  dinner,  or  supper,  and  think 
that  there  should  be  a  greater  variety  of  food 
on  the  table,  just  coine  with  me  and  we  will 
visit  some  of  the  boys  and  girls  of  far-away 
China.  What  do  you  suppose  their  chief  article 
of  food  is  ?  Rice.  Rice  in  the  morning,  rice 
at  noon,  and  rice  at  night.  Rice  from  the 
beginning  to  the  end  of  the  year.  In  the 
poorer  families  a  bit  of  dried  fish  and  some 
vegetables  are  usually  eaten  with  it.  Those 
who  can  afford  such  things  have  bits  of  pre- 
served ginger,  mushrooms,  and  barley  cakes 
with  the  rice.  Of  course  the  rich  people  have 
other  things  to  eat,  but  most  of  the  people  of 
China  are  poor. 

In  the  fertile  portions  of  China  the  people 
live  very  close  together.  Gardens  take  the 
place  of  farms.  Workmen  often  receive  no 
more  than  ten  cents  a  day.  On  this  account 

70 


A  RICE   FIELD  71 

they  cannot  afford  the  variety  of  food  that  we 
have,  but  must  be  content  with  whatever  is 
cheap  and  nourishing  for  their  labor.  If  the 
rice  crop  were  to  fail,  the  Chinese  would  suffer. 
You  will  see  how  important  this  food  is  to 
them,  when  I  tell  you  that  they  are  forbidden 
by  law  to  sell  rice  to  other  countries. 

Perhaps  you  are  wondering  where  the  rice 
that  we  use  in  this  country  comes  from.  Rice 
is  grown  in  great  quantities  in  Japan,  Corea, 
Indo-China,  Ceylon,  India,  the  Philippines,  the 
Hawaiian  Islands,  and  in  our  Gulf  states. 

Rice  is  the  chief  food  of  one  half  the  people 
of  the  world.  Although  we  raise  large  quanti- 
ties, we  produce  only  about  one  half  of  what 
we  use.  It  is  a  kind  of  grain  which  will  not 
thrive  on  the  fertile  Western  prairies  where  corn, 
oats,  and  wheat  grow.  It  needs  a  warm  climate 
and  a  great  deal  of  water.  For  this  reason  the 
rice  fields  are  found  on  the  marshy  lands  near 
the  coast,  and  by  the  banks  of  rivers,  where  they 
can  be  easily  flooded.  Some  rice  is  raised  on 
the  uplands,  but  not  so  successfully  as  on  the 
lowlands. 


72  HOW  WE   ARE   FED 

Canals  are  dug  from  the  streams  through,  the 
farms,  and  from  these  smaller  ditches  branch 
off  so  as  to  reach  all  parts.  They  are  so 
arranged  that  the  farmer  can  turn  the  water 
on  or  off  whenever  he  wishes.  On  some  of 


FIG.  22.  — A  Rice  Field.— Observe  the  Canal. 

the    farms,   wells    furnish    the    water    to    the 
canals. 

In  the  Gulf  states  the  fields  are  plowed  in 
the  winter,  and  the  rice  is  sown  between  the 
first  of  April  and  the  middle  of  May.  Some- 
times the  seed  is  sown  broadcast,  as  wheat  is, 


A  RICE   FIELD  73 

and  sometimes  it  is  planted  in  regular  drills  or 
trenches  about  twelve  inches  apart. 

The  Japanese  sow  the  seed  in  gardens,  and 
when  the  plants  are  eight  or  ten  inches  high, 
they  are  pulled  up  and  transplanted  to  the 
fields.  The  men  work  right  in  the  water,  for 
the  fields  are  flooded  at  the  time. 

In  our  country  the  farmer  floods  the  field  as 
soon  as  the  seeds  are  planted,  allowing  the 
water  to  remain  five  or  six  days.  When  the 
young  blade  of  rice  is  a  few  inches  high,  the  field 
is  again  flooded.  After  the  second  leaf  appears 
on  the  stalk,  the  water  is  turned  on  and  left 
for  twenty  or  thirty  days.  After  the  land  dries  > 
the  crop  is  hoed.  The  fields  are  irrigated  from 
time  to  time,  until  about  eight  days  before  the 
harvest,  which  generally  occurs  in  August. 

When  full  grown,  the  stalks  are  from  one  to 
six  feet  in  height,  with  long,  slender  leaves. 
The  kernels  grow  much  as  those  of  wheat  and 
oats  do. 

On  account  of  the  fields  being  so  wet,  rice, 
in  most  countries,  is  cut  by  hand.  In  China 
and  Japan  small  curved  sickles  are  used,  and 


74  HOW  WE   ARE   FED 

the  grain  is  bound  up  in  very  small  bundles. 
In  Louisiana  and  some  other  parts  of  the 
South,  regular  harvesters  are  used.  They  have 
very  broad  wheels.  Why  ? 

After  the  grain  has  been  bound  into  bundles, 
these  are  set  up  in  double  rows  to  dry.  This 
is  called  shocking  the  rice.  The  grain  is  then 


FIG.  23.  —  Harvesting  Rice. 

put  through  a  thrashing  machine,  to  separate  it 
from  the  straw. 

Rice  kernels  are  covered  by  a  husk.  Before 
the  husk  is  removed  the  grain  is  often  called 
,  paddy  rice.  Removing  the  hulls  or  husks  is 
called  hulling.  The  hulling  machine  is  a  long 
tube  into  one  end  of  which  the  rice  is  poured. 
Within  the  tube  are  ribs  which  revolve  rapidly. 


A   RICE   FIELD  75 

As  the  kernels  pass  between  these  the  hulls 
are  taken  off. 

If  you  were  passing  through  a  Chinese  vil- 
lage, you  might  hear  sounds  like  those  produced 
when  a  man  pounds  with  a  mallet  on  a  great 
piece  of  timber.  On  searching  for  the  sounds, 
you  would  find  that  they  came  from  the  rice 
mill.  The  mill  consists  of  a  portion  of  a  log 
hollowed  out  and  placed  upright.  In  the  hol- 
low a  quantity  of  rice  is  held.  A  piece  of 
timber,  fastened  to  a  pivot,  extends  in  a  hori- 
zontal position  with  one  end  over  the  mill.  To 
this  end  another  timber  is  fastened  in  an  upright 
position.  A  Chinaman  gets  on  to  the  end  of  the 
long  timber  which  is  farthest  from  the  mill. 
This  raises  the  end  with  the  upright.  He  then 
jumps  off  and  the  upright  falls,  striking  upon 
the  rice.  In  this  way  the  hulls  are  worn  off. 

After  hulling,  the  grain  is  carefully  screened, 
in  order  to  remove  the  hulls,  the  broken  and 
very  small  kernels,  and  the  rice  flour.  This 
latter  makes  good  cattle  food. 

Perhaps  you  have  noticed  that  rice  kernels 
have  a  bluish  appearance.  This  is  not  natural, 


76  HOW   WE   ARE   FED 

but  is  the  result  of  polishing.  The  polishing 
removes  much  of  the  best  part  of  the  grain, 
but  the  rice  sells  for  a  higher  price  simply  on 
account  of  its  appearance. 

The  polishing  machine  is  cylindrical  or  drum- 
like  in  shape.  Moosehide  or  sheepskin  is 
tacked  to  the  cylinder.  It  is  made  to  revolve 
rapidly,  so  that  the  kernels  are  polished  as  they 
pass  over  the  skin.  After  being  polished  the 
kernels  are  run  through  screens  and  sorted. 
The  rice  is  then  put  up  in  barrels  or  sacks  and 
shipped. 


HOW   SUGAR  IS   MADE 

This  picture  represents  one  of  the  beginnings 
of  the  great  industry  of  sugar  making.  The 
small  objects  which  you  see  in  the  trenches 
are  pieces  of  sugar  cane.  These  "  cuttings/'  as 


FIG.  24.  —  Sowing  Sugar  Seed. 

they  are  called,  are  covered  with  soil.  They 
soon  sprout,  and  from  them  grow  the  tall,  wav- 
ing fields  of  cane,  which  resemble  cornfields. 
The  canes  are  taller  than  cornstalks,  however. 

77 


78 


HOW   WE   ARE   FED 


How  high  do  you  think  those  shown  in  the 
picture  are  ? 

In  about  ten  months  after  planting  the  cane  is 
ready  to  cut.  In  the  Southern  states  this  work 
usually  begins  about  the  middle  of  October. 

The  canes  are  jointed,  as  cornstalks  are,  and 


FIG.  25.  —  Cutting  Sugar  Cane. 

the  spongy  substance  between  the  joints  is  filled 
with  a  sweet  juice.  It  is  from  this  juice  or 
sap  that  cane  sugar  is  made.  I  have  seen 
children  chew  pieces  of  the  cane,  and  enjoy  it 
as  you  do  candy;  for  this  use  it  is  sometimes 
sold  in  stores  in  the  South. 


ffX 

OFTHE  .X 

UNIVERSITY  J 

OF       y 

'Bji^ 


HOW   SUGAR   IS   MADE  81 

After  the  canes  are  cut  they  are  hauled  to  the 
mill  or  sugarhouse  on  wagons.  On  the  large 
plantations  tram  cars  sometimes  run  right  into 
the  fields. 

At  the  mill  the  canes  are  run  between  heavy 
rollers,  which  squeeze  out  the  sap.  Sometimes 
as  many  as  seventy-five  pounds  of  sap  are  ob- 
tained from  one  hundred  pounds  of  cane.  The 
crushed  stalks  are  used  in  the  mill  for  fuel,  and 
the  ashes  are  returned  to  the  land  to  fertilize  it. 

When  the  juice  is  first  pressed  out,  it  is  not 
at  all  clear  in  color.  It  is  then  placed  in  great 
vats  or  kettles  and  heated.  This  heating 
causes  the  water  which  is  in  the  sap  to  evapo- 
rate, and  it  also  brings  some  of  the  impurities 
to  the  top,  where  they  are  skimmed  off.  When 
the  evaporating  has  been  finished,  there  are  two 
products,  molasses  and  brown  sugar. 

The  sugar  must  next  be  refined.  For  this 
purpose  it  is  usually  sent  to  cities  outside  of 
the  sugar  belt.  There  are  great  refineries  in 

New  Orleans,  San  Francisco,  St.  Louis,  Chicago, 

•  • 
and  other  cities. 

When  the  raw  svgar,  as  it  is  called,  reaches 


82  HOW    WE   ARE   FED 

the  refinery,  which  is  generally  a  tall  building, 
it  is  taken  to  the  top  story  and  dissolved  in  hot 
water.  It  then  passes  through  bags  which  act 
as  filters,  and  through  a  great  cylinder  which 
contains  burned  bones,  known  as  bone-Nack. 


FIG.  27.  — A  Sugar  Mill. 

You  remember  that  I  told  you  that  the  bones 
of  the  cattle  were  saved.  This  is  one  of  the 
uses  to  which  they  are  put.  When  the  liquid 
comes  out  of  this  bone  filter  it  is  a  perfectly 
clear  sirup,  which  is  then  crystallized. 


HOW  SUGAR  IS  MADE  83 

You  know  that  we  buy  refined  sugar  in  three 
forms :  granulated  sugar,  loaf  sugar,  and  pul- 
verized sugar.  When  granulated  sugar  is 
wanted,  the  crystals  are  placed  in  a  great 
drum,  which  revolves  until  they  are  thoroughly 
dried  in  the  right  form.  To  make  loaf  sugar, 
the  crystals  are  pressed  into  molds,  then  dried, 
and  cut  into  the  size  desired.  In  powdered 
sugar  they  are  simply  ground  to  a  powdered 
condition. 

Think  how  much  labor  is  required  to  produce 
sugar,  and  yet  you  can  buy  it  for  five  cents  a 
pound. 

There  are  great  fields  of  sugar  cane  in  the 
Gulf  states,  in  Cuba,  in  the  Hawaiian  Islands, 
in  the  East  Indies,  in  India,  and  in  other  warm, 
moist  parts  of  the  world.  We  buy  a  great  deal 
of  sugar  from  Cuba,  and  from  the  Hawaiian 
Islands.  To  what  city  do  you  think  the  sugar 
from  the  Hawaiian  Islands  is  sent  ? 


BEET   SUGAR 

Although  the  cane  fields  of  the  moist,  hot 
countries  yield  great  quantities  of  sugar,  there 
are  other  sources  from  which  this  useful  product 
comes.  In  the  year  1747  a  German  scientist 
discovered  that  sugar  can  be  made  from  beets, 
and  now  about  two  thirds  of  our  supply  come 
from  these  plants. 

The  sugar  beet  is  not  just  like  the  plant  of 
the  same  name  which  we  raise  for  table  use. 
It  is  white,  and  sometimes  weighs  as  much  as 
ten  or  fifteen  pounds.  Beets  do  not  need  so 
much  water  nor  so  much  heat  as  sugar  cane, 
so  they  can  be  raised  in  Germany,  France, 
Austria,  Russia,  and  other  countries,  as  well 
as  in  California,  Utah,  and  Nebraska,  in  our 
own  land. 

In  some  parts  of  California  there  are  fields 
of  beets  stretching  for  miles.  The  seeds  are 
planted  in  rows,  which,  after  the  plants  have 

8* 


BEET  SUGAR  85 

come  up,  are  thinned.  In  four  or  five  months 
from  the  time  the  seeds  are  planted,  the  beets 
are  ready  to  harvest. 

On  most  of  the  large  randies  the  beets  are 
dug  by  machinery.  Men  then  move  back  and 
forth  in  the  fields,  cutting  off  the  leaves  and  a 
little  of  the  upper  part  of  the  beet,  for  this  con- 
tains too  much  mineral  matter  to  be  of  value  in 
making  sugar.  The  workmen  use  large  knives, 
and  they  walk  on  their  knees. 

The  beets  are  now  taken  to  the  factory  in 
wagons,  or,  if  it  is  far  away,  they  are  sent 
on  trains.  When  the  loads  of  beets  reach  the 
factory,  they  are  weighed.  The  teamsters  then 
drive  up  an  inclined  plane  to  a  plank  roadway. 
There  are  generally  several  of  these.  On  each 
side  of  the  road  or  platform  are  deep  V-shaped 
trenches  with  wooden  sides,  in  which  streams 
of  water  run.  When  the  wagon  has  reached 
the  right  spot,  the  platform  upon  which  it  rests 
is  raised  in  a  slanting  position,  and  the  beets 
fall  into  the  trench. 

A  basket  full  of  beets  is  taken  from  each 
load  and  tested,  to  see  how  much  sugar  they 


86  HOW  WE  ARE  FED 

contain,  for  this  determines  the  price  to  be 
paid. 

The  stream  of  water  in  the  trench  carries  the 
beets  along,  just  as  they  would  be  carried  in  a 
brook.  This,  you  see,  is  a  quick  and  easy  way 
of  washing  them. 

The  streams  of  water  carry  the  beets  into  the 
factory,  where  they  are  cut  up  into  strips  by 
machinery.  The  juice  is  then  washed  out  in 
vats  containing  warm  water,  and  is  boiled  down 
in  great  tanks.  The  raw  sugar  is  refined  much 
as  the  cane  sugar  is.  After  the  sugar  has  been 
dried,  it  is  run  through  spouts  into  sacks  held 
open  to  catch  it  as  it  comes  out.  One  hundred 
pounds  are  put  into  each  sack.  One  workman 
sews  the  sacks  up  and  another  wheels  them  to 
the  wareroom.  Train  loads  are  carried  away  to 
be  distributed  in  the  parts  of  our  country  that 
do  not  produce  sugar. 


MAPLE   SUGAR 


You  would  enjoy  helping  to  make  some 
maple  sugar,  I  am  sure,  so  let  us  make  a  trip 
to  the  woods  of  Vermont  or  New  York,  where 
maple  sugar  is  made  from 
the  sap  of  the  sugar-maple 
tree. 

You  will  need  your  cap 
and  mittens,  as  the  sugar 
season  is  the  early  spring, 
when  there  is  yet  snow  on 
the  ground.  Besides,  some 
of  the  work  is  done  at  night, 
and  you  will  not  wish  to 
miss  that. 

rn,  »   ,,  FIG.  28.  — Tapping  a  Tree. 

ihe  owner  of  the  "  sugar 

bush  "  bores  holes  into  the  trees  a  short  distance 
from  the  ground,  into  which  he  slips  small 
spouts,  called  "spiles." 

This  is  called  tapping  the  trees.     Underneath 

87 


88 


HOW  WE   ARE   FED 


the  spout  a  pail  is  placed.  During  the  day  the 
sap  trickles  out  and  runs  into  the  pail.  During 
the  colder  hours  of  the  night  the  sap  flows 
slowly,  if  at  all.  Sometimes  it  is  so  cold  that 
little  sap  runs  for  two  or  three  days  at  a  time. 
The  sap  is  collected  in  barrels  and  drawn  on 


FIG.  29. —  Oxen  hauling  Sap. 

sleds  to  the  camp  or  place  where  it  is  to  be 
boiled  down.  This  is  done  in  great  pans  called 
evaporators,  which  may  be  five  or  six  feet  wide, 
and  fifteen  feet  long.  They  are  divided  into 
sections,  and  these  are  connected  by  means  of 
little  openings. 


MAPLE   SUGAR 


89 


The  sap  flows  into  one  end  of  the  evaporator  and 
follows  a  zigzag  path  through  the  different  sec- 
tions. By  flowing  slowly  over  so  large  a  surface, 
evaporation  goes  on  rapidly  and  the  sap  is  changed 
to  sirup  by  the  time  it  has  finished  its  journey. 

The  sirup  is  put  up  in  cans,  or  boiled  down 


FIG.  30.  —  Sap-yoke  and  Pails  for  gathering  Sap. 

into  sugar,  which  is  molded  into  small  cakes, 
and  brings  a  high  price. 

"  Sugaring  off,"  as  the  boiling  down  of  the 
sap  is  called,  is  quite  an  event.  Often  a  number 
of  people  will  be  invited  to  go  to  the  sugar- 
house  and  take  art  ill  the  operation. 


90  HOW   WE   ARE   FED 

Before  the  modern  evaporator  came  into  use 
"  sugaring  off  "  always  occurred  at  night.  This 
was  necessary,  because  during  the  day  the  sap 
buckets  had  to  be  attended  to.  The  young  peo- 
ple would  sing  songs,  tell  stories,  and  eat  sugar. 

Some  of  the  " sugar  bushes"  contain  but  a 
few  trees  and  some  contain  one  or  two  thousand 
or  even  more.  A  tree  will  yield  from  one  to  six 
pounds  of  sugar  during  a  season. 

Our  country  produces  great  quantities  of 
sugar  every  year,  but  we  use  so  much  that  we 
have  to  buy  much  more  than  we  manufacture  at 
home.  It  was  not  always  in  such  common  use, 
however,  because  people  in  olden  times  did  not 
understand  how  to  make  it  cheaply. 

Long,  long  ago  sugar  was  used  only  as  a 
medicine.  Don't  you  wish  that  all  medicine 
to-day  was  as  good  as  sugar?  About  seven 
hundred  years  ago  an  Italian  nobleman  died  and 
left  to  his  relatives,  among  other  things,  six 
pounds  of  sugar.  His  will  caused  considerable 
comment  among  the  people,  who  said  that  no 
one  family  should  be  allowed  to  have  so  much 
sugar  in  its  possession. 


WHERE   SALT   COMES   FROM 

The  Arab,  journeying  over  the  yellow  sands, 
riding  upon  the  back  of  his  faithful  "  ship  of 
the  desert,"  often  looks  longingly  for  some 
sign  of  water  to  cool  his  parched  lips.  The 
sailor  may  ride  upon  the  beautiful  blue  waters 
of  the  ocean  in  his  white-winged  ship;  but 
although  there  is  nothing  but  water  to  greet 
his  eyes,  he  cannot  drink  it,  for  it  is  bitter 
to  the  taste. 

If  you  were  to  place  a  quantity  of  ocean 
water  over  a  fire  and  evaporate  it,  there  would 
remain  a  white  substance.  This  isr  common 
salt.  You  see  that  it  is  as  necessary  to  pro- 
vide fresh  water  when  one  wishes  to  cross  the 
ocean,  as  it  is  if  one  is  going  to  cross  the 
desert. 

Most  streams  and  lakes  contain  fresh  water, 
so  you  will  wonder  why  the  waters  of  the 
ocean  are  briny.  The  rocks  and  soil  of  the 

91 


92  HOW   WE   ARE   FED 

earth  contain  salt,  and  the  streams  wash  it 
from  the  land.  Each  one  carries  so  little  that 
we  do  not  notice  it,  but  they  have  worked  so 
steadily  and  so  long,  that  they  have  carried  a 
great  amount  to  the  sea.  None  of  it  can  es- 
cape, so  the  ocean  gets  more  and  more  briny. 

No  healthy  person  would  ever  think  of  eat- 
ing salt  alone  as  a  food,  and  yet  our  food 
would  taste  very  unsatisfactory  without  it. 
Farmers  supply  their  cattle  and  horses  with 
salt,  and  wild  animals  search  for  it  in  the 
forests,  and  lick  it  from  the  soil  with  their 
tongues. 

Salt  is  so  important  to  us  that  I  want  to 
tell  you  about  some  of  the  ways  in  which 
men  obtain  it. 

Sometimes  sea  water  is  placed  in  great  vats 
and  evaporated.  This  leaves  the  salt,  which 
is  then  refined.  You  know  that  the  sun's  heat 
causes  the  waters  of  a  shallow  pond  to  evapo- 
rate during  warm  weather.  Shallow  basins  are 
often  scooped  out  along  the  coast,  and  the 
waters  which  fill  them  are  then  shut  off  from 
the  larger  body.  In  time  the  water  evapo- 


WHERE   SALT   COMES   FROM  93 

rates,  and  the  salt,  which  has  formed  in  thin 
layers,  is  collected. 

I  said  that  most  lakes  are  fresh-water 
bodies.  There  are  some,  however,  that  are 
very  salty.  Great  Salt  Lake  is  one  of  these. 
Streams  flow  into  it,  Hut  none  flows  out.  If 
you  were  to  bathe  in  the  waters  of  this  lake, 
you  would  find  that  your  body  would  not 
sink. 

I  have  seen  great  piles  of  glistening  salt 
along  the  shore  of  Great  Salt  Lake  which 
had  been  obtained  by  evaporation.  A  railroad 
runs  beside  the  lake,  and  the  salt  is  loaded 
upon  the  cars  to  be  hauled  away.  When  the 
people  first  settled  in  Utah,  they  used  to  drive 
to  the  lake  in  wagons  to  get  a  supply  of  salt. 

Although  the  ocean  and  a  few  lakes  contain 
immense  quantities  of  this  useful  article,  we 
get  most  of  our  supply  from  other  sources. 

In  the  western  part  of  New  York  State,  at 
some  distance  below  the  surface  of  the  earth, 
there  is  a  thick  layer  of  salt.  Wells  are  drilled 
down  to  this;  water  is  pumped  into  them,  and 
then  pumped  out  again  as  brine.  This  brine 


94  HOW   WE   ARE   FED 

is  evaporated  in  large  pans  made  of  iron,  two 
quarts  of  brine  yielding  about  a  pound  of  salt. 

In  China  salt  has  been  obtained  in  this  way 
for  hundreds  and  even  thousands  of  years. 
Though  they  had  little  machinery  to  work 
with  in  those  days,  yet  by  patient,  steady 
effort,  they  drilled  wells  two  thousand  and  even 
three  thousand  feet  in  depth.  From  twenty-five 
to  forty  years  were  required  to  drill  some  of 
these  wells.  Those  who  commenced  them  knew 
that  they  were  not  likely  to  enjoy  the  fruits 
of  their  labor  and  that  others  must  get  the 
benefit  of  what  they  did.  What  does  this 
show  about  these  people?  What  benefits  are 
you  receiving  from  what  others  have  done? 

Salt  is  also  mined  as  coal  and  iron  are. 
This  is  called  rock  salt.  It  is  obtained  in 
Germany,  Poland,  Austria,  India,  the  United 
States,  and  in  many  other  countries. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  salt  fields  of 
the  world  is  in  the  southeastern  part  of  Cali- 
fornia. It  is  on  the  Colorado  Desert,  near  the 
Colorado  River.  This  wras  once  a  part  of  the 
ocean  floor  and  the  rocks  contain  much  salt. 


WHERE   SALT   COMES   FROM  97 

Water  seeping  through  the  earth  dissolves  the 
salt  and  brings  it  to  the  surface  at  this  place. 
What  happens  to  the  water? 

This  salt  field   covers  an  area  of  about   one 
thousand  acres,  to  a  depth  of  from  one  to  eight 


FIG.  32.  —  Loading  Cars  with  Salt.    Salton,  California. 

inches.  You  can  see  by  the  picture  that  it  looks 
more  like  a  field  of  snow  and  ice  than  one  of 
salt.  The  bright  sunlight  is  reflected  from  its 
surface  with  such  power  that  it  hurts  one's  eyes. 
A  great  plow  drawn  by  a  steam  engine 


98  HOW  WE  AKE  FED 

moves  over  this  dazzling  field,  and  throws  the 
salt  up  in  furrows.  It  is  then  piled  up,  loaded 
on  to  cars,  and  taken  to  sheds,  where  it  is  puri- 
fied. Indians  and  Japanese  do  most  of  the  work. 

In  order  to  purify  the  brines  they  are  boiled 
in  iron  pans  and  treated  in  various  ways  to 
make  them  fit  for  table  use.  When  evapora- 
tion is  rapid,  the  salt  crystals  are  quite  small, 
but  slower  evaporation  produces  larger  ones. 
Rock  salt  is  dissolved  in  water  and  then  evap- 
orated. To  get  the  finest  of  salt,  the  crystals 
must  be  ground.  When  salt  is  to  be  used  for 
other  purposes  than  to  season  food,  not  so  much 
pains  are  taken.  Name  other  uses  of  salt. 

In  olden  times,  when  salt  was  not  so  easily 
obtained  as  it  is  to-day,  it  was  regarded  in  some 
countries  as  a  luxury.  This  seems  strange,  does 
it  not  ?  At  one  time  the  Chinese  made  it  into 
little  cakes,  stamped  the  image  of  the  emperor 
upon  it,  and  used  it  as  money.  In  Arabia  those 
who  together  ate  food  which  had  been  salted, 
believed  that  this  established  a  special  bond  of 
friendship  between  them.  This  led  to  the  old 
saying,  "  There  is  salt  betwreen  us." 


MACARONI   AND   VERMICELLI 

Have  you  ever  wondered  as  you  have  looked 
at  the  hollow  sticks  of  macaroni  in  the  stores  or 
as  you  have  eaten  them  at  the  table,  how  they 
were  made  in  that  way,  and  what  they  were 
made  of  ? 

In  Italy  macaroni  is  a  very  important  article 
of  food,  and  its  use  is  rapidly  increasing  in  our 
own  country.  For  a  long  time  it  was  not  made 
outside  of  Italy,  where  the  city  of  Genoa  was 
the  center  of  the  industry.  Locate  this  city. 
Do  you  know  what  great  man  was  born  there  ? 
Now  macaroni  and  vermicelli  are  made  in  other 
countries.  There  are  a  few  factories  in  the 
United  States,  but  most  of  what  we  use  still 
comes  from  Italy. 

In  making  these  foods  only  the  best  hard 
wheat  is  used. 

After  grinding  the  wheat,  the  bran  is  taken 
out  and  the  flour  is  placed  in  a  large  wooden 

99 


100  HOW   WE   AKE   FED 

tub.  Water  is  added,  and  the  two  are  mixed  by 
hand  for  a  few  minutes.  In  this  tub  -a  marble 
wheel  about  five  feet  in  diameter  and  eighteen 
inches  in  thickness  is  fastened  in  an  upright 
position.  This  wheel  weighs  about  a  ton. 

After  the  flour  and  water  have  been  mixed, 
the  wheel  is  set  in  motion  by  machinery,  and  it 
slowly  circles  around  in  the  tub,  pressing  the 
dough  under  it. 

A  man  keeps  walking  in  front  of  the  wheel, 
moving  the  dough  from  the  edges  of  the  tub 
and  placing  it  directly  in  the  path  of  it.  This 
work  of  pressing  the  flour  into  a  paste  continues 
for  a  little  more  than  half  an  hour. 

The  wheel  is  then  stopped  and  the  paste, 
which  is  quite  stiff,  is  cut  into  cakes  about  a 
foot  square  and  from  one  to  three  inches  in 
thickness. 

These  are  put  into  an  iron  cylinder  heated 
by  steam.  In  the  bottom  of  the  cylinder  is  a 
.  copper  plate  filled  with  holes  having  the  centers 
filled.  A  cover  fitted  to  a  great  screw  which 
turns  by  machinery  is  placed  on  top.  This 
slowly,  but  steadily,  presses  the  paste  downward. 


MACARONI  AND   VERMICELLI 


101 


It  is  thus  forced  through  these  openings,  and  of 
course  comes  out  in  the  form  of  round,  hollow 
pipes. 

As  these  pipes  issue  from  the  cylinder,  they 
are  straightened  out  on  a  wooden  tray  or  plat- 
form, and  with  a  large,  sharp  knife  cut  into 


FIG.  33.  — Drying  Macaroni  in  Italy. 

lengths  of  about  three  feet.  They  are  then 
taken  to  a  drying  room  and  spread  on  wire 
frames  covered  with  oiled  paper.  Here  they 
are  left  for  about  five  days,  after  which  they  are 
placed  in  boxes  and  are  ready  to  ship. 

The    only  difference    between    macaroni   and 


102  HOW   WE   ARE   FED 

vermicelli  is  that   the   pipes  of   vermicelli   are 
very  small  and  are  not  hollow. 

When  vermicelli  is  wanted,  two  plates  are 
placed  on  the  bottom  of  the  press.  The  under 
one  is  of  iron  and  contains  holes  about  one  inch 
in  diameter.  The  upper  one  is  of  copper  and 
contains  groups  of  very  small  openings.  There 
are  sometimes  eighty  of  these  openings  in  a 
group.  When  the  plates  are  screwed  together, 
the  groups  of  small  holes  are  directly  above  the 
larger  openings. 

As  the  paste  is  pressed,  it  passes  through  the 
little  h,oles  and  then  issues  from  the  larger  ones ; ; 
this  keeps  each  little  group  of  pipes  somewhat ; 
apart  from  the  others. 

Saffron  is  added  to  the  paste  to  color  it,  and 
the  great  golden  mass  is  quite  a  pretty  sight  as 
it  steadily  lengthens. 

The  workman  cuts  off  six  or  seven  feet  of  it 
at  a  time ;  and  holding  it  above  his  head  with 
one  hand,  he  shakes  it  out  with  the  other,  as  one 
might  shake  the  folds  of  a  piece  of  silk.  The 
pipes  tangle  up  very  little.  They  are  cut  into 
lengths  of  about  eighteen  inches. 


MACARONI   AND   VERMICELLI  103 

It  is  then  taken  to  the  drying  room  and 
spread  out  on  the  trays  just  as  the  macaroni  is. 
A  handful  of  the  vermicelli  is  taken  at  a  time, 
and  by  a  peculiar  twist  of  the  arm  it  is  placed 
on  the  paper  in  a  form  something  like  that  of 
the  letter  n.  After  drying  for  five  days  it  is 
packed  and  shipped. 


ON  A  COFFEE   PLANTATION 

Juan  and  Lupe  live  in  a  beautiful  valley 
where  palm  and  banana  trees  wave  their  broad 
leaves  in  the  breeze.  It  is  never  cold  there,  so 
that  many  kinds  of  plants  and  flowers  grow 
out  of  doors  which  we  do  not  see  in  our  country 
except  in  greenhouses.  /  On  clear  days  they  can 
see  lofty  mountains  far  to  the  westward,  which 
sometimes  wear  caps  of  white. 

Juan  is  fourteen  years  old  and  Lupe  is 
twelve.  Their  skin  is  much  darker  than  yours, 
and  they  have  bright  black  eyes  and  black  hair. 
Their  father  owns  a  great  coffee  plantation  in 
Brazil,  not  far  from  the  city  of  Rio  Janeiro. 

There  are  many  men,  women,  and  children 
employed  on  the  plantation,  and  Juan  and  Lupe 
enjoy  roaming  about  from  place  to  place  and 
watching  them  at  their  work. 

In  the  nursery  they  see  men  planting  the 
coffee  seeds  in  the  rich  soil.  There  are  some 

104 


ON  A  COFFEE  PLANTATION  105 

plants  that  have  just  come  up,  and  some  that 
are  ready  to  transplant.  They  are  set  out  in 
rows,  six  or  eight  feet  apart  each  way,  and 
sometimes  more. 

The  trees  would  grow  much  taller  than  those 


FIG.  34.  —  A  Coffee  Nursery. 

you  see  in  the  picture,  if  they  wrere  not  kept 
pruned.  Do  you  know  why  they  are  prevented 
from  growing  tall  ?  Whenever  you  look  at  a 
coffee  plantation,  you  see  the  dark  green  foliage 
of  the  tree,  which  is  an  evergreen.  Lupe  is 


106 


HOW  WE   ARE   FED 


very   fond   of   the   blossoms.      They   are   clear 
white  and  very  fragrant. 

A  tree  will  yield  a  small  amount  the  second 
year  after  planting,  but  it  will  not  produce  a 


FIG.  35.  — Picking  Coffee. 

full  crop  for  five  or  more  years.     Two  pounds 
is  a  good  average  crop  for  a  tree. 

The  children  like  to  watch  the  pickers  as 
they  go  from  tree  to  tree.  Many  of  them  are 
about  their  own  age.  Some  carry  a  sack  slung 
over  the  shoulders,  and  others  carry  baskets  or 
pails.  The  berries  must  be  picked  by  hand,  for 


ON   A   COFFEE    PLANTATION 


107 


they  do  not  all  ripen  at  once.  They  are  dark 
scarlet  in  color  and  look  a  little  like  cranberries. 
A  good  picker  gathers  about  three  bushels  in  a 
day.  The  pickers  are  given  a  check  every  time 
they  fill  a  basket.  Sometimes  Juan  tends  to 
this  work,  and  he  enjoys  it  very  much.  At  the 


FIG.  36.  —  Coffee  Berries. 

end  of  each  week  the  pickers  are  paid  accord- 
ing to  the  number  of  checks  they  have. 

Within  the  berry  are  two  kernels  or  seeds, 
with  their  flat  sides  together.  These  are  called 
"  coffee  beans."  It  is  these  beans  from  which 
the  drink  is  made. 

The  picking  is  but  a  small  part  of  the  work 


108  HOW   WE   ARE   FED 

of  preparing  coffee  for  the  market.  The  first 
operation  is  removing  the  pulp.  This  used  to 
be  done  by  tramping  on  the  berries,  but  now 
it  is  done  in  a  better  way. 

The  berries  are  thrown  into  a  large  tank  filled 
with  water,  which  carries  them  through  a  pipe 
to  the  pulping  machine.  This  machine  removes 
the  pulp  and  separates  the  beans. 

Next  the  beans  are  carried  to  a  second  tank, 
where  they  remain  for  about  twenty-four  hours, 
to  wash  off  a  sticky  substance  which  covers  the 
shell  of  the  bean. 

If  you  have  ever  put  beans  or  peas  into  a 
basin  of  water,  you  have  noticed  that  nearly  all 
of  them  sink,  while  a  few  float.  These  latter 
are  the  poor  ones.  This  is  the  way  in  which 
the  good  and  bad  coffee  beans  are  separated. 
A  pipe  carries  off  the  seeds  that  float  on  the 
surface  of  the  water. 

The  beans  are  dried  on  cement  floors  upon 
which  they  are  spread.  This  drying  takes  a 
long  time,  Before  sunset  each  day  the  coffee 
must  be  carried  under  shelter,  for  the  dew 
injures  it.  While  they  are  drying,  the  workmen 


ON  A   COFFEE   PLANTATION  109 

stir  them.  Sometimes  artificial  heat  is  used, 
but  this  is  expensive.  Juan's  father  has  a 
watchman  whose  duty  it  is  to  guard  the  coffee 
at  night,  for  it  is  very  valuable. 

Each  bean  is  covered  by  a  strong  shell,  or 
hull,  which  has  to  be  removed.  The  soaking 
has  loosened  this,  and  so  it  comes  off  easier 
than  it  otherwise  would.  Juan  and  Lupe  often 
watch  the  wheels  of  the  huller  as  they  turn, 
moved  by  patient  oxen. 

There  are  two  wheels  set  upright  over  a 
circular  box,  into  which  the  coffee  is  put. 
As  it  passes  between  the  wheels  and  the  bot- 
tom of  the  box,  the  hulls  are  removed. 
Underneath  the  hull  is  a  thin  skin,  which  is 
also  taken  off. 

In  some  countries  people  want  the  coffee 
dyed  or  colored.  A  bluish  color  is  given  to  it 
by  coating  the  wheels  of  the  hulling  machine 
with  lead. 

The  hulls  are  separated  from  the  beans  in 
a  winnowing  machine,  and  the  coffee  is  then 
sorted.  Often  this  is  done  by  hand.  The 
beans  are  spread  out  on  a  table,  and  girls  and 


110  HOW   WE   ARE   FED 

boys,  and  sometimes  grown  persons,  sort  it  into 
several  grades. 

Juan's  father  has  this  work  done  by  machin- 
ery.     The  coffee  is  put  into  a  cylinder,  in  the 


FIG.  37.  —  Sorting  and  sacking  Coffee. 

bottom  of   which  there   are   holes   of   different 
sizes  by  which  it  is  graded. 

The  last  process  is  to  sack  the  coffee  and 
send  it  by  railroad  to  Rio  Janeiro.  Of  course 
it  is  neither  roasted  nor  ground  until  it  reaches 
its  destination. 


ON  A   COFFEE   PLANTATION  111 

We  do  not  produce  coffee  in  our  country, 
but  we  are  the  greatest  coffee  drinkers  in  the 
world.  A  large  part  of  our  supply  comes 
from  Brazil.  frace  the  course  of  the  ship 
from  Rio  Janeiro  to  New  York.  Juan  has 
often  done  this,  and  his  father  has  promised 
to  take  him  with  him  sometime,  when  he  goes 
with  a  cargo  of  coffee. 

You  naturally  think  that  coffee  of  different 
names  must  come  from  different  countries,  or 
at  least  from  different  trees.  This  is  not 
always  the  case.  Several  brands  may  come 
from  the  same  tree.  The  name  depends  partly 
upon  the  size  and  the  general  appearance  of  the 
beans. 

Coffee  is  a  native  of  the  far  East,  but  it  has 
gradually  been  transplanted  to  other  countries, 
until  it  is  now  very  extensively  used.  Brazil, 
Central  America,  Mexico,  the  West  Indies,  the 
Hawaiian  Islands,  Java,  Ceylon,  and  Arabia 
are  coffee-raising  countries. 

In  1551  coffee  found  its  way  to  the  city  of 
Constantinople  ;  in  1652  it  had  reached  London  ; 
and  in  1720  it  was  planted  in  the  West  Indies. 


112  HOW   WE    ARE    FED 

You    see   it   worked    its   way  westward   rather 
slowly. 

Several  hundred  years  ago,  coffee  was  very 
expensive,  so  that  only  the  rich  could  afford  to 
use  it.  Instead  of  drinking  it  at  home,  people 
went  to  "  coffeehouses,"  where  it  was  served. 
To  these  "  coffeehouses  "  men  brought  whatever 
news  they  had  heard  and  told  it  to  one  another. 
In  this  way  these  places  served  about  the  same 
purpose  that  newspapers  do  now. 


THE   TEA  GARDENS   OF   CHINA 

At  the  bottom  of  the  teapot  you  will  find 
some  leaves.  Spread  one  of  them  out  carefully. 
You  can  see  that  it  was  once  long  and  slender, 
a  little  like  willow  leaves.  It  may  have  grown 
in  some  garden  in  far-away  China,  for  we  get 
a  great  deal  of  tea  from  that  country. 

I  have  told  you  how  close  together  the  people 
live  on  the  fertile  plains  of  eastern  China. 
There  is  so  little  room  that  many  live  on  boats 
on  the  rivers  and  in  the  harbors.  On  this 
account  their  farms  are  not  so  large  as  ours. 

The  tea  trees  in  the  gardens  are  about  five 
or  six  feet  high.  If  they  were  allowed  to,  they 
would  reach  a  height  of  twenty-five  feet;  but 
they  are  kept  trimmed  for  the  same  reasons 
that  the  coffee  trees  are  pruned. 

The  trees  are  raised  from  seeds,  and  are 
generally  planted  on  land  which  slopes  toward 
the  south.  What  advantage  is  this  ? 

113 


114  HOW   WE   ARE   FED 

In  about  three  years  after  planting,  the  first 
crop  of  leaves  can  be  gathered.  In  China  they 
are  usually  gathered  four  times  each  year,  and 
the  trees  continue  to  yield  for  twenty-five  or 
thirty  years. 

When  the  leaves  are  picked,  they  are  full  of 
sap  or  juice,  and  so  have  to  be  dried.  The 
drying  is  usually  done  on  trays  made  of  bamboo. 
While  they  are  drying,  they  are  rubbed  and 
rolled  between  the  palms  of  the  hands,  so  that 
they  may  dry  more  quickly  and  evenly. 

Next  the  leaves  are  placed,  a  few  at  a  time, 
in  iron  pans  over  a  charcoal  fire.  They  are 
left  in  these  but  a  short  time,  for  they  are  hot. 
This  process  is  called  "  firing."  Sometimes 
the  leaves  are  "  fired  "  but  once,  and  sometimes 
twice. 

The  tea  is  then  spread  out,  and  broken  bits  of 
stems  are  removed.  Some  of  the  tea  growers 
place  the  tea  in  baskets  which  are  suspended 
over  slow  fires,  for  drying. 

If  you  were  to  look  into  some  of  the  tea-liongs 
or  houses  where  tea  is  cured  and  packed,  you 
would  find  the  tea  dried  in  a  very  curious  fash- 


THE   TEA   GARDENS   OF   CHINA  117 

ion.  In  one  of  the  rooms  you  would  see  several 
Chinamen  rolling  and  tossing  balls  about  with 
their  bare  feet.  The  balls  are  about  the  size  of 
footballs  and  are  partly  filled  with  tea.  Although 
it  looks  like  play,  it  is  hard  work.  As  the  balls 
are  tossed  about,  the  tea  leaves  are  given  their 
rounded  or  twisted  appearance.  From  time  to 
time  the  workers  stop  and  tie  the  bags  up  more 
closely  at  the  neck.  This  method  is  used  in 
making  gu^iowder  tea. 

Black  and  green  teas  are  not  different  varie- 
ties, but  are  produced  by  different  methods  of 
handling. 

In  the  great  tea-hongs  there  are  professional 
tasters,  —  that  is,  men  who  do  nothing  but 
sip  tea  from  small  cups,  so  as  to  grade  it  and 
fix  its  value.  This  is  considered  a  very  par- 
ticular line  of  work  and  requires  an  educated 
taste. 

The  ocean  atmosphere  has  a  bad  effect  on  tea, 
so  that  the  very  finest  grades  are  seldom  sent 
across  the  sea.  When  tea  is  to  be  shipped  by 
water,  it  is  placed  in  boxes  lined  with  a  sort 
of  sheet  lead.  This  protects  the  tea  greatly. 


118  HOW   WE   ARE   FED 

Most  of  the  tea  sent  to  the  United  States  lands 
at  San  Francisco.  Why  ?  How  does,  it  get  to 
other  parts  of  our  country? 

Great  quantities  of  tea  are  pressed  into  the 
form  of  bricks  and  sent  over  mountains  and 
across  deserts  into  Russia. 

This  is  called  "  brick  tea."  The  Russians 
are  great  tea  drinkers,  and  whenever  any  one 
calls  in  Russia,  tea  is  served.  They  call  their 
teapot  a  samovar. 

Better  tea  is  obtained  from  Ceylon  and  India 
than  from  China.  In  these  countries  Europeans 
have  charge  of  most  of  the  tea  farms?  and  they 
have  carefully  studied  the  cultivation  and  han- 
dling of  tea. 

There  is  a  little  tea  raised  in  our  own  country 
in  the  state  of  South  Carolina.  It  is  very  fine 
in  quality  and  people  are  willing  to  pay  a  high 
price  for  it.  Some  of  it  has  been  sold  for.  five 
dollars  a  pound. 

When  tea  was  first  brought  into  Europe,  it  was 
regarded  as  a  great  luxury,  just  as  coffee  was. 
People  paid  as  much  as  fifty  dollars  a  pound  for 
it.  It  is  said  that  some  of  the  tea  raised  to-day 


THE   TEA   GARDENS  OF   CHINA  119 

for  the  royal  family  of  China,  is  worth  a  hundred 
dollars  a  pound. 

Many  people  in  this  country  do  not  enjoy  a 
cup  of  tea  unless  they  have  milk  and  sugar  in 
it.  The  Chinese  do  not  use  either  in  their  tea. 
In  Russia  it  is  quite  common  to  draw  the  tea 
through  a  lump  of  sugar  held  between  the  teeth. 

You  know  that  tea  parties  are  very  common. 
The  most  celebrated  tea  party  ever  held  was 
called  the  "  Boston  Tea  Party."  See  what  you 
can  find  out  about  it. 


A   CUP   OF   COCOA 

On  the  eighteenth  day  of  June,  in  the  year 
1771,  this  notice  appeared  in  the  Essex  Gazette 
of  Massachusetts :  — 

"AMOS   TKASK, 

At  his  House  a  little  below  the  Bell-Tavern  in 
DANVERS, 

Makes  and  sells  Chocolate, 
which  he  will  warrant  to  be  good,  and  takes 
Cocoa  to  grind.  Those  who  may  please  to 
favor  him  with  their  Custom  may  depend 
upon  being  well  served,  and  at  a  very  cheap 
Kate." 

This  seems  to  have  been  the  first  notice  of  the 
manufacture  and  sale  of  cocoa  and  chocolate  in 
our  country.  What  is  peculiar  about  the  notice? 

In  those  days  the  raw  product  was  brought 
to  Massachusetts  by  the  Gloucester  fishermen. 
They  obtained  it  in  the  West  Indies  in  ex- 

1JO 


A   CUP  OF   COCOA  121 

change  for  fish  and  other  things  which  they 
took  there. 

When  the  Spanish  soldier,  Cortez,  conquered 
Mexico  in  1519,  he  found  that  the  people  of 
that  country  were  very  fond  of  a  drink  which 
they  called  "  chocolatl."  It  was  served  to  their 
ruler,  Montezuma,  in  a  cup  of  gold.  When  the 
Spaniards  went  home,  they  of  course  introduced 
the  drink  into  their  own  county.  For  a  long 
time  it  was  very  expensive  and  was  not  com- 
monly used  outside  of  Spain,  for  the  Spaniards 
kept  the  secret  of  its  preparation. 

Cocoa  and  chocolate  are  products  of  the  seeds 
of  a  tree  called  the  cacao  tree.  It  is  a  trop- 
ical tree  and  grows  in  both  the  Old  and  the 
New  World. 

Although  the  cacao  tree  grows  wild,  it  is  also 
cultivated  in  orchards  much  like  fruit  orchards 
which  you  have  seen.  The  trees  are  seldom 
more  than  twenty  feet  high,  but  they  are  rather 
inclined  to  spread  out.  They  require  some 
shade,  and  so  other  trees  are  often  planted 
between  the  rows  to  shade  them.  The  trees 
begin  to  bear  when  five  or  six  years  old,  and 


122 


HOW   WE   ARE   FED 


continue  to  yield  for  forty  years.  There  are 
generally  two  chief  harvests  each  year.,  but  the 
fruit  is  ripening  all  of  the  time. 

The   blossoms,    which   grow   in   clusters,  are 
small  and  pink  or  yellow  in  color.     They  grow 


FIG.  39.  —  Cocoa  Pods  and  Leaves. 

(Permission  of  WALTER  BAKER  &  Co.,  Ltd.) 

directly  from  the  branches  or  the  trunk  of  the 
tree. 

In  about  four  months  after  the  tree  has 
blossomed,  you  will  find  dark  yellow  or  brown 
pods  hanging  from  it.  These  look  a  little  like 


A  CUP  OF  COCOA 


123 


ripe  cucumbers,  but  they  are  more  pointed  at 
one  end  and  are  grooved  or  fluted.  These  pods 
are  from  six  inches  to  a  foot  or  more  in  length, 
with  a  rather  thick,  toiigh  rind. 

How  do  you  think  the  pods  are  gathered  ? 


PIG.  40.  —  Native  Cocoa  Pickers.    Ceylon. 

(Permission  of  WALTER  BAKER  &  Co.,  Ltd.) 

They  are  cut  off  by  men  carrying  long  poles, 
sometimes  of  bamboo,  to  the  ends  of  which 
knives  are  fastened.  Only  the  ripe  pods  are 
cut  off  and  collected  in  a  heap  under  the  tree. 
They  are  left  in  these  heaps  for  about  twenty- 


124  HOW   WE   ARE   FED 

four  hours,  when  they  are  cut  open  and  the 
seeds  are  gathered  in  baskets. 

The  seeds  are  called  "  beans."  There  are  five 
rows  of  them,  about  the  size  of  almonds,  within 
the  pink  pulp  of  the  fruit.  When  fresh  they 
are  white,  but  when  dried  they  are  brown.  If 
you  taste  one,  you  will  find  it  bitter. 

You  have  often  seen  on  packages  of  chocolate, 
as  well  as  on  the  cans  of  breakfast  cocoa,  the 
picture  of  a  young  woman  carrying  some  choco- 
late upon  a  tray.  It  is  the  picture  of  a  beauti- 
ful girl  who  once  served  chocolate  in  the  old 
city  of  Vienna.  Her  name  was  Anette  Bal- 
dauff,  and  she  married  a  rich  count  and  "  lived 
happily  ever  after."  It  is  said  that  a  painting 
of  her  hangs  upon  the  walls  of  the  great  art 
gallery  in  Dresden.  Point  out  the  cities  I  have 
mentioned. 

The  seeds  are  carried  from  the  orchard  to  the 
sheds,  where  they  are  prepared  for  market.  Here 
they  go  through  a  process  of  fermentation  or 
"  sweating."  For  this  purpose  they  are  placed 
in  a  covered  box,  or  they  may  even  be  covered 
with  earth.  This  is  called  "  claying."  Now 


A   CUP  OF  COCOA 


125 


the  seeds  must  be  dried.  They  are  spread  out 
on  platforms,  raised  a  little  above  the  ground, 
so  that  the  air  can  circulate  underneath.  You 
notice  that  the  roofs  do  not  cover  them  just 
now,  for  their  only  purpose  is  to  keep  off  the 


FIG.  41.  —  Drying  Cocoa  Seed.     Ceylon. 

(Permission  of  WALTER  BAKER  &  Co.  Ltd.) 

dew  and  the  rain.  They  are  fastened  to  frames 
which  have  wheels  under  them.  During  the 
day  they  are  not  used,  but  at  night  they  are 
rolled  over  the  cocoa. 

The  cocoa  is  stirred  by  workmen  using  long 


126  HOW  WE   ARE  FED 

shovels  or  rakes,  so  that  it  may  dry  quickly  and 
evenly.  Once  a  day  the  beans  are  shoveled  into 
heaps  and  the  workmen  tread  upon  them  with 
their  bare  feet,  as  you  see.  This  is  called 
"  dancing  the  cocoa." 

After  the  seeds  have  dried  for  about  two 
weeks  they  are  nearly  the  color  of  red  bricks. 
They  are  put  up  for  shipment  in  canvas  sacks 
holding  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  each. 
The  name  of  the  plantation  is  usually  stamped 
upon  the  outside.  Guayaquil  exports  more 
cocoa  than  any  other  city.  Find  it.  A  great 
deal  comes  from  the  island  of  Trinidad,  and  from 
the  northern  part  of  South  America. 

When  the  u  beans  "  have  reached  their  desti- 
nation, they  must  be  cleaned,  to  rid  them  of  dust 
and  dirt  collected  on  the  way.  They  are  then 
placed  in  a  great  revolving  cylinder  and  roasted. 
You  remember  that  when  coffee  is  roasted  it 
brings  out  a  pleasant  odor  called  its  aroma. 
The  same  is  true  of  cocoa.  The  roasting  also 
helps  to  loosen  a  shell  which  surrounds  the 
seed.  The  shell  is  next  removed  and  the 
"beans"  are  then  crushed. 


A   CUP  OF   COCOA 


127 


The  Mexicans  used  to  crush  the  seeds  on  a 

large  stone,  hollowed  out  on  top.  This  they 
called  a  "matate." 

The   crushing   is   now    done    by  machinery. 


FIG.  42.  —  Grinding  Cocoa. 

(Permission  of  WALTER  BAKER  &  Co.,  Ltd.) 

The  broken  bits  of  the  cocoa  are  called  "  cocoa 
nibs."  When  the  cocoa  is  ground  to  a  powder, 
it  is  put  into  strong  bags  and  pressed.  This 
pressure  removes  a  part  of  an  oily  substance 
known  as  "  cocoa  butter."  Remember,  then,  that 


128 


HOW   WE   ARE   FED 


cocoa  is  the  meal  or  flour  made  from  the  crushed 
seeds  from  which  some  of  the  oil  has  been  re- 
moved. Chocolate  differs  from  cocoa  in  that 
none  of  this  oil  is  removed  in  making  it. 


FIG.  43.  —  Moulding  Cocoa. 

(Permission  of  WALTER  BAKER  &  Co.,  Ltd.) 

You  have  often  seen  the  words  "  sweet  choco- 
late "  on  the  labels.  This  is  made  by  adding  a 
quantity  of  pulverized  sugar  to  the  "  plain  "  or 
"  bitter "  chocolate.  Sometimes  vanilla  beans 
are  added. 


A  CUP  OF   COCOA 


129 


The  pasty  mass  known  as  chocolate  must  be 
molded.  When  the  proper  amount  has  been 
placed  in  each  of  several  metal  molds  which 
rest  on  a  table,  they  are  made  to  rock  or  shake, 
and  this  causes  the  chocolate  to  assume  the 


FIG.  44.  —  Cooling  Cocoa. 
(Permission  of  WALTER  BAKER  &  Co.,  Ltd.) 

right  shape.  The  molds  are  then  taken  to  the 
cooling  room,  where  they  are  placed  on  frames, 
one  above  another,  in  long  rows.  Girls  and 
women  wrap  the  cakes  of  chocolate  in  the  wrap- 
pers specially  prepared  for  them,  after  which 
they  are  packed  in  boxes  ready  for  shipment. 


130  HOW  WE   ARE   FED 

At  Dorchester,  Massachusetts;  on  the  Nepon- 
set  River,  is  situated  the  largest  establishment 
for  the  manufacture  of  cocoa  and  chocolate  in 
America.  It  is  interesting  to  know  that  on  the 
very  spot  where  these  great  mills  now  stand, 
was  built,  in  1765,  the  first  one  of  the  kind  in 
this  country. 


A  CRANBERRY  BOG 

WAREHAM,  MASSACHUSETTS,  Dec.  10,  1901. 

DEAR  FRANK  :  How  surprised  you  will  be  to 
learn  that  I  am  now  a  country  boy.  We  left 
Boston  early  last  spring,  and  came  out  here  to 
go  into  the  business  of  cranberry  raising.  It 
seemed  very  strange  at  first  to  travel  along 
country  roads,  or  through  woods  and  fields, 
instead  of  upon  the  cement  walks  of  our  city 
streets,  but  we  all  think  the  country  delightful. 

A  cranberry  farm  is  a  marsh  or  a  bog,  so 
you  will  see  that  the  vines  need  a  great  deal 
of  water.  There  are  both  wild  and  cultivated 
bogs.  Those  that  are  cultivated  are  provided 
with  a  system  of  ditches,  so  that  they  can  be 
flooded  from  time  to  time.  It  is  a  good  deal 
like  irrigation  in  Southern  California,  I  suppose. 
We  flood  the  bogs  to  prevent  the  berries  from 
freezing,  as  well  as  to  furnish  the  vines  with 
water.  I  will  tell  you  more  about  that  by 
and  by. 

131 


132  HOW   WE   ARE   FED 

Father  wanted  a  larger  bog  than  the  one  he 
first  bought,  so,  soon  after  we  came,  he  got 
another  small  piece  of  marsh  land  which  joins 
it  qn  the  west,  and  started  vines  on  it. 

You  know  that  willows,  rosebushes,  grape- 
vines, and  many  other  plants  will  grow  from 
cuttings.  It  is  the  same  with  cranberry  vines. 
The  lower  end  of  each  cutting  is  pressed  into 
the  soil,  and  it  soon  begins  to  grow.  They  are 
set  in  rows  about  fourteen  inches  apart.  One 
of  our  neighbors,  who  was  starting  a  bog  at 
the  same  time,  cut  the  vines  into  pieces  an 
"inch  or  two  long,  and  scattered  them  over  the 
ground.  He  then  harrowed  them  in.  The 
vines  multiply  just  as  strawberry  plants  do,  by 
putting  out  runners.  ' 

They  tell  us  that  our  new  bog  will  produce 
a  crop  in  three  years.  Do  you  have  to  wait 
that  long  for  a  crop  of  oranges  ? 

By  the  middle  of  June  our  bog  was  in  full 
blossom.  The  flowers  are  quite  small  and  their 
color  is  a  little  like  that  of  the  flesh.  I  read 
an  interesting  thing  about  them  the  other  day. 
It  seems  that  the  berries  used  to  be  called 


A    CRANBERRY   BOG 


133 


"craneberries,"  because  people  thought  that  the 
blossoms,  just  before  they  opened  fully,  "  re- 
sembled the  neck,  head,  and  bill  of  a  crane." 
By  dropping  the  e,  we  got  the  present  name. 


FIG.  45.  — A  Cranberry  Bog.     Showing  the  Young  Vines. 

During  our  harvest  time,  which  lasted  from 
the  middle  of  September  to  the  last  of  October, 
we  were  very  busy.  We  did  not  commence  to 


134 


HOW  WE   ARE   FED 


go  to  school  until  the  berries  were  picked.  You 
see,  frost  may  occur  and  spoil  the  crop,  so  that 
everybody  works  as  fast  as  possible  until  the 
harvest  is  over.  Father  had  about  twenty 


FIG.  46.  —  Cranberry  Pickers  at  Work.      Notice  how  the  Bog  is 
divided  into  Rows  by  Means  of  Cords. 

pickers    some    of    the    time,    besides    our    own 
family. 

When  we  were  ready  to  begin  picking, 
father  took  some  twine  and  stretched  it  back 
and  forth  across  the  bog,  fastening  it  to  small 
stakes.  This  divided  the  field  into  rows.  Each 


A   CRANBERRY  BOG  135 

picker  was  given  a  row,  and  he  was  not  allowed 
to  change  until  it  was  finished. 

At  first  it  seemed  great  fun  to  get  down  on 
the  ground  and  strip  off  the  bright  berries,  but 
when  one  does  this  day  after  day  it  gets  pretty 
tiresome.  It  must  be  easy  to  pick  oranges, 
because  you  can  stand  up  while  you  work. 

Father  paid  the  pickers  twelve  cents  a  pail. 
It  takes  about  three  pailfuls  to  make  a  bushel. 
I  averaged  about  one  dollar  and  a  half  each 
day.  I  bought  a  suit  of  clothes  and  all  of  my 
books  for  the  year,  and  have  considerable 
money  left.  Some  of  the  pickers  who  were 
quite  small  did  not  earn  very  much.  Do  you 
recognize  Jennie  ?  She  worked  a  part  of 
every  day. 

Twice  during  the  picking  season  there  was  a! 
sharp  frost,  but  we  saved  the  crop. 

The  government  sends  out  a  Weather  Map 
every  day.  Our  teacher  gets  one,  and  there  is 
one  tacked  up  in  the  post  office  every  morning. 
These  maps  tell  what  kind  of  weather  to  expect, 
and  father  watches  them  closely.  When  he 
saw  that  frost  was  likely  to  occur,  he  and  the 


136  HOW   WE   ARE   FED 

men  opened  the  gates  which  hold  back  the 
water,  in  order  to  flood  the  part  of  the  bog 
where  we  had  not  picked.  The  vines  were 
buried  nearly  two  feet  beneath  the  surface  of 
the  water.  Father  says  the  water  cools  so 


FIG.  47.  —  A  Young  Worker.    Notice  how  the  Berries  are  picked. 

slowly  that  its  temperature  is  much  above  that 
of  the  surface  of  the  ground  or  the  air  near  it, 
so  the  berries  do  not  get  frost-bitten.  Soon 
after  sunrise  the  water  was  drawn  off,  and  the 
next  day  the  bog  was  dry  enough  for  the  pick- 
ers to  work. 


A   CRANBERRY  BOG 


137 


I  wonder  if  the  Weather  Bureau  is  of  any 
use  to  farmers  in  California.  I  know  that  the 
sailors  watch  for  the  flags  which  tell  when 
storms  are  coming,  that  they  may  not  go  to 
sea  if  a  violent 
storm  is  ex- 
pected. Father 
says  very  many 
lives  and  much 
property  are 
saved  every  year 
in  this  way. 

I  have  not  told 
you  what  we  do 
with  the  cran- 
berries after  they 
are  picked.  Of 
course  we  cannot 
help  gathering 
some  leaves  and  twigs  with  the  berries,  and  these 
must  be  taken  out.  For  this  purpose  the  berries 
are  put  into  a  winnowing  machine.  I  will  send 
you  a  picture  of  one.  As  the  man  turns  the 
crank,  wooden  fans  within  turn  rapidly,  blowing 


FIG.    48.  —  Winnowing    and    Barreling 
Cranberries. 


138  HOW   WE   ARE   FED 

out  the  leaves,  twigs,  and  dirt.  The  berries  drop 
through  a  screen  and  run  out  of  a  -spout  into 
a  barrel,  as  you  see.  We  then  put  them  into 
crates  or  barrels  for  sale.  Father  tells  me  that 
cranberries  are  shipped  from  our  country  to 
Europe,  because  those  raised  here  are  much 
better  than  the  European  berries. 

There  are  great  quantities  of  cranberries 
raised  in  this  part  of  Massachusetts.  I  have 
been  reading  lately  that  they  are  produced  in 
New  Jersey,  on  Long  Island,  in  Michigan,  Wis- 
consin, Minnesota,  Canada,  and  some  other  sec- 
tions. From  what  I  have  read,  I  guess  they 
are  not  raised  in  Southern  California.  Wouldn't 
it  seem  strange  if  you  were  to  eat  berries  raised 
on  our  bog,  three  thousand  miles  away  ? 

Now  I  want  you  to  tell  me  about  the  orange 
groves  of  Southern  California,  for  none  of  us 
have  ever  seen  an  orange  growing. 

I  wish  you  all  a  very  "  Merry  Christmas " 
and  a  "  Happy  New  Year." 

Your  loving  friend, 

WILL. 


THE   COCOANUT  ISLANDS   OF  THE 
PACIFIC 

Imagine  yourself  on  a  great  ocean  steamship, 
gliding  over  the  blue  water  of  the  Pacific  Ocean 
toward  the  Samoan  Islands.  Among  the  first 
things  that  you  will  see  as  you  near  the  shores 
of  these  islands  will  be  tall,  slender,  graceful 
trees,  rising  without  a  branch  to  a  height  of 
thirty  to  eighty  feet.  At  the  top  is  a  sort 
of  crown,  composed  of  long,  drooping  leaves. 
These  beautiful  trees  lean  out  over  the  water 
and  toss  their  leaves  in  the  strong  and  steady 
breeze  from  the  ocean.  They  seem  to  nod  a 
friendly  greeting  to  you  as  you  approach,  and 
to  wave  a  loving  farewell  to  you  as  you  sail 
away.  These  trees  are  the  cocoanut  palms. 
They  grow  on  all  of  the  tropical  islands  of 
the  Pacific  Ocean,  in  the  West  Indies,  and 
along  the  shores  of  most  warm  countries,  but 
never  far  from  the  sea. 

139 


140  HOW    WE   ARE   FED 

When  the  cocoanut  falls  into  the  water,  it 
is  rocked  and  tossed  by  the  waves  and  drifted 
about  by  the  currents,  but  it  is  safe  within 
its  shell,  for  the  salt  water  cannot  penetrate 
this.  When  it  finally  comes  to  rest  upon  some 
strange  shore,  it  is  ready  to  give  to  the  world 
another  cocoanut  palm,  if  the  climate  is  like 
that  from  which  it  sailed.  In  this  way  nature 
has  helped  the  trees  to  become  widely  distributed. 

There  are  cocoanut  plantations  as  well  as 
wild  groves  of  the  trees.  When  a  plantation  is 
to  be  established,  the  planter  selects  the  ripest 
nuts  and  dries  them  for  several  weeks.  They 
are  then  planted,  and  by  and  by  a  little 
palm  springs  from  the  small  end  of  the  nut 
and  the  roots  from  the  large  end.  When  the 
young  trees  are  from  six  months  to  two  years 
old,  they  are  transplanted  in  rows  thirty  or 
forty  feet  apart.  They  begin  to  bear  nuts  in 
about  five  years,  but  they  do  not  yield  a  full 
crop  for  fifteen  or  twenty  years.  Do  you  think 
that  a  poor  man  could  afford  to  go  into  the 
business  of  cocoanut  raising? 

As   you  see  in  the   picture,  cocoanuts  grow 


FIG.  49.  —  A  Cocoanut  Grove. 


THE  COCOANUT  ISLANDS  OF   THE  PACIFIC    143 

in  clusters.  You  notice  also  that  they  grow 
close  to  the  stem  instead  of  at  the  ends  of  the 
branches.  They  do  not  all  ripen  at  once,  but 
nuts  may  be  picked  at  almost  any  time.  A 
tree  will  produce  from  fifty  to  one  hundred 
nuts  each  year.  If  you  were  to  go  into  an 
apple,  a  peach,  or  a  cherry  orchard,  you  could 
easily  pick  the  ripe  fruit.  Gathering  cocoanuts 
is  quite  a  different  matter,  however.  Let  us 
observe  this  shiny-skinned  Samoan  boy  and  see 
how  he  picks  them.  He  fastens  a  short  piece 
of  rope  in  the  form  of  a  loop  to  each  foot. 
Letting  one  of  the  loops  catch  on  a  rough 
place  on  the  bark  of  the  tree  he  places  the 
hollow  of  his  foot  against  it,  clasps  the  trunk 
with  his  hands,  and  raises  himself  a  little. 
Then  the  other  loop  is  fastened  a  little  higher 
up,  and  he  raises  himself  again.  In  this  way 
he  finally  reaches  the  nuts.  With  a  knife  he 
cuts  off  the  ripe  ones,  which  fall  to  the  ground 
and  are  then  piled  up.  They  are  then  placed 
in  baskets  which  are  hung  from  a  pole  and 
carried  on  the  shoulders  of  two  men  or  are 
loaded  on  to  donkeys  and  taken  to  the  shed. 


144  HOW  WE   ARE  FED 

The  ripe  cocoanut  is  a  valuable  article  of 
food  just  as  it  is  picked  from  the  tree.  It- 
contains  also  a  milk  which  is  a  nourishing 
drink.  Most  of  the  cocoanut  sent  to  other 
countries,  however,  is  in  a  form  known  as  copra. 

At  the  shed  the  hard  shell,  which  covers  the 
meat,  is  split  open  by  means  of  an  ax.  The 
meat  is  removed  with  a  knife  and  is  then 
spread  out  on  mats  to  dry.  This  dried  cocoa- 
nut  is  copra. 

The  inhabitants  of  these  cocoanut  islands  live 
in  a  much  more  simple  style  than  we  do,  and  the 
cocoanut  tree  supplies  many  of  the  things  that 
they  use  daily. 

Let  us  examine  the  home  of  a  native  Samoan. 
The  frame  and  posts  of  the  house  are  made  of 
the  slender  trunks  of  the  cocoanut  palm,  while 
the  roof  is  covered  with  its  leaves  instead  of  with 
shingles.  The  cups,  bowls,  dippers,  and  many 
other  household  utensils  are  made  of  the  shells. 
If  a  whole  shell  is  wanted,  the  "  eyes "  are 
pushed  in,  the  milk  is  used,  and  ants  are  allowed 
to  eat  the  meat.  These  make  excellent  water 
bottles.  Baskets,  curtains,  and  twine,  are  made 


THE   COCOANUT   ISLANDS   OF   THE   PACIFIC    145 

from  the  fiber  of  the  leaves,  and  the  bark  is  used 
for  fuel. 

From  the  copra  an  oil  is  pressed  which  is  used 
in  the  manufacture  of  soap.  It  makes  a  perfectly 
white  soap  that  will  float  on  the  water.  It  is 
also  used  to  furnish  light,  and  the  people  rub  it 
on  their  bodies  to  prevent  sunburn.  The  sap 
of  the  tree  is  made  into  sugar,  vinegar,  and 
a  liquor. 

While  in  our  country  the  cocoanut  is  impor- 
tant chiefly  to  bakers  and  confectioners,  in  these 
far-away  islands  it  is  the  most  useful  of  plants, 
and  one  of  the  chief  articles  of  food.  Would 
you  not  like  to  visit  the  cocoanut  islands  and 
learn  more  of  their  interesting  people  ? 


A  BUNCH  OP  BANANAS 

Every  day,  as  you  walk  along  the  streets  you 
see  great  bunches  of  bananas  hanging  in  front  of 
fruit  and  grocery  stores.  You  find  them  at  the 
corner  fruit  stand,  and  peddlers  carry  them  from 
house  to  house. 

Although  bananas  are  so  common  now  and  so 
cheap  that  all  can  afford  to  eat  them,  this  was  not 
so  when  your  grandparents  were  children.  In 
those  days  the  fruit  was  regarded  as  quite  a 
luxury,  for  there  were  few  people  engaged  in 
carrying  it  from  its  tropical  home  to  the  cities  of 
our  country.  Now  many  small  but  swift  ships, 
called  "  fruiters,"  carry  on  this  business.  They 
get  their  cargoes  of  fruit  in  the  West  Indies  or 
Central  America,  and  within  a  week  after  sail- 
ing they  are  unloading  at  New  Orleans,  Balti- 
more, New  York,  or  Boston.  If  the  number  of 
bananas  which  reach  our  country  each  year  were 
equally  distributed,  each  person  would  receive 
twenty-five. 


A   BUNCH   OF   BANANAS 


147 


Let  us  get  aboard  that  wonderful  train  upon 
which  all  may  travel  free  of  cost,  which  runs 


FIG.  50.  —  A  Banana  Tree. 


equally  well  upon  land  and  water.  We  step  off 
right  in  the  center  of  a  banana  plantation  on  the 
island  of  Jamaica. 


148  HOW   WE   ARE   FED 

Yes,  these  are  banana  trees  all  about  you. 
See  how  long  and  broad  the  leaves  are  and 
how  gracefully  they  droop !  Some  of  them  are 
ten  or  fifteen  feet  long ;  almost  as  long  as  the 
trees  are  tall.  The  trees,  you  see,  are  simply 
stalks  from  which  the  leaves  unroll.  Here  you 
can  see  some  just  starting  out.  They  are  rolls 
of  bright  green,  pointing  upward,  each  starting 
from  the  center  of  the  stalk.  No,  the  leaves 
were  not  torn  in  that  way  by  the  pickers.  The 
wind  sometimes  whips  them  into  ribbons,  for 
they  are  very  tender. 

These  stalks  growing  from  the  base  of  the 
main  stem  are  called  "  suckers  "  here;  in  Costa 
Rica  they  are  called  "bits."  You  remember 
that  there  are  no  seeds  in  bananas.  It  is 
these  "  suckers "  that  are  planted  when  a 
farmer  wants  to  start  a  plantation.  They  are 
set  out  when  two  or  three  feet  high  and  within 
a  year  they  bear  fruit.  What  did  I  tell  you 
about  the  length  of  time  required  for  the 
cocoanut  to  bear  ? 

It  is  but  four  years  since  the  trees  in  this 
plantation  were  single  "  suckers,"  standing 


A   BUNCH   OF   BANANAS 


149 


about  fifteen  feet  apart.  Now  there  are  sev- 
eral stalks  grouped  about  each  parent  plant, 
and  the  beautiful  leaves,  touching  overhead, 
form  shaded  aisles  of  green. 

Of  course  a  great  number  of  "  suckers "  are 


FIG.  51. — A  Banana  Plantation. 

not  allowed  to  grow  together.  Keeping  these 
cut  down  is  called  "  cleaning  the  plantation." 
Now  let  us  examine  the  fruit  on  this  tree 
beside  us.  You  see  that  the  great  cluster  or 
bunch  is  made  up  of  smaller  bunches.  These 
are  called  "  hands,"  and  each  banana  is  spoken 


150  HOW   WE   ARE   FED 


of  as  a  "  finger."  Let  us  count  the  "  hands  "  in 
this  bunch.  This  is  an  unusually,  large  one, 
for  it  contains  thirteen.  Nine  "  hands"  make 
a  full  bunch.  As  you  see,  there  are  from  ten 
to  twenty  "fingers"  in  a  "hand."  Buyers  will 
seldom  take  bunches  of  less  than  six  "  hands." 

Here  come  the  fruit  cutters  to  help  get  a 
cargo  for  the  "  fruiter"  we  saw  at  anchor. 

Yes,  the  bananas  are  green,  I  know,  and 
they  are  always  green  when  gathered.  They 
will  ripen  in  the  storehouses  when  they  reach 
the  United  States. 

No,  it  is  not  a  waste  to  cut  down  the  stalks, 
for  they  die  after  bearing  their  fruit,  and  the 
smaller  stalks  about  them  wTill  soon  yield. 
Some  of  these  stalks,  you  see,  have  but  one 
bunch  and  some  have  two  or  three.  How  odd 
the  bunches  look  with  the  "  fingers  "  all  point- 
ing upward ! 

The  banana  leaves  which  the  men  are  wrap- 
ping about  the  bunches  are  to  protect  the 
fruit.  It  bruises  very  easily  and  great  quanti- 
ties are  lost  on  this  account.  They  are  not 
always  wrapped,  however. 


A  BUNCH   OF   BANANAS 


151 


When  the  fruit  reaches  the  vessel,  it  is 
carefully  inspected ;  and  if  not  in  just  the  right 
condition,  it  is  refused.  The  bunches  which 
are  accepted,  are  taken  into  the  hold  of  the 


FIG.  52.  —  Loading  a  Small  Boat  with  Bananas  to  be  taken  to  the 
"  Fruiter"  in  the  Harbor. 

ship  and  packed  closely  together.  The  planter 
receives  for  these  from  ten  to  thirty-five  cents 
a  bunch.  Just  think  of  buying  eight  or  nine 
dozen  of  bananas  for  ten  cents ! 

The    men  will  not  stop  work  until  the  ship 


152  HOW   WE   ARE   FED 

is  loaded.  It  may  take  twenty-four  hours, 
and  it  may  take  twice  that  long,  fora  "fruiter" 
will  carry  from  fifteen  to  twenty  thousand 
bunches  of  fruit. 

In  some  parts  of  Central  America,  where 
there  are  no  harbors,  the  planters  float  the 
fruit  down  the  streams  in  canoes.  The  vessels 
anchor  at  some  distance  from  the  shore,  and 
the  bananas  are  taken  out  in  boats  called 
dories.  They  are  hoisted  up  to  the  deck  of 
the  ship  by  means  of  pulleys,  and  then  packed 
in  the  hold.  The  thousands  of  bunches  which 
are  bruised  in  handling  are  thrown  into  the  sea. 

While  the  northern  ports  get  most  of  their 
supply  of  bananas  from  the  West  Indies,  the 
Pacific  coast  states  are  supplied  from  Central 
America.  The  "fruiters"  unload  at  New 
Orleans  into  trains,  which  carry  the  fruit  to 
Los  Angeles,  San  Francisco,  and  other  places. 
Banana  trains  also  run  from  New  Orleans  to 
St.  Louis,  Chicago,  and  other  parts  of  the 
country. 

The  fruit  ships  have  great  pipes  or  venti- 
lators, which  carry  the  cool,  fresh  air  from  the 


A  BUNCH   OF   BANANAS 


153 


sea  down  into  the  hold.  Sometimes  when  they 
reach  port  it  is  so  cold  that  the  bananas  can- 
not be  taken  out  for  a  few  days.  Wagons  are 
loaded  with  the  fruit  at  the  wharves,  and  it 
is  taken  to  warehouses  where  it  gradually  turns 


FIG.  53.  —  A  u Fruiter"  taking  a  Cargo  of  Bananas. 

yellow.     I  am  sure  you  have  seen  loads  of  the 
green  fruit  on  the  streets. 

When  the  wholesale  merchant  sells  the  fruit, 
he  often  incloses  each  bunch  in  the  rough 
material  of  which  gunny  sacks  are  made,  and 
then  puts  a  light,  circular  frame,  made  of  strips 
of  wood,  over  it.  This,  you  see,  protects  the 


154  HOW   WE   ARE   FED 

bananas.  The  grocer  or  fruit  man  takes  hold 
of  the  frame  without  danger  of  mashing  the 
fruit,  lifts  the  bunch,  and  hangs  it  upon  a  hook. 
The  frame  and  sacking  are  then  removed. 

Bananas  grow  in  the  tropical  parts  of  Asia 
and  Africa  and  on  many  of  the  islands  of  the 
Pacific  Ocean.  They  are  also  raised  in  Florida, 
and  they  ripen  in  sheltered  places  in  Southern 
California. 

You  have  seen  both  yellow  and  red  bananas. 
The  red  ones  usually  bring  the  higher  price, 
but  they  do  not  keep  well  and  are  not  so 
extensively  raised  as  the  yellow  ones. 

The  banana  is  an  important  article  of  food. 
It  is  much  more  nourishing  than  potatoes  or 
even  good,  white  bread.  A  flour  or  meal  can 
be  made  from  the  fruit  by  drying  it  and  then 
grinding. 


HOW   DATES   GROW 

Three  thousand  years  before  the  shepherds 
followed  the  star  to  the  manger  at  Bethlehem, 
the  beautiful  date  palm  was  cultivated  beside 
the  banks  of  the  Euphrates  and  the  Nile  rivers. 
The  date  was  the  bread  of  the  people  who 
lived  in  these  fertile  valleys,  and  it  is  an  im- 
portant article  of  food  in  northern  Africa, 
Arabia,  and  Persia  to-day. 

Look  at  a  map  of  northern  Africa,  and  you 
will  see  that  the  great  Sahara  covers  a  large 
part  of  it.  Here  and  there  across  the  drifting 
sands  wind  caravan  routes,  traveled  by  camels 
ridden  by  strangely  dressed  men.  These  routes 
lead  to  beautiful  garden  spots  called  oases. 
Here  are  wells  and  springs,  with  little  streams 
flowing  in  the  shade  of  fig,  date  palm,  and 
other  trees.  The  people  who  dwell  within 
these  groves  beside  the  cooling  waters  look 
out  upon  the  desert  as  the  inhabitants  of  an 

155 


156  HOW   WE   ARE   FED 

island  might  look  upon  the  boundless  sea. 
Find  some  of  these  oases  and  learn  why  they 
are  fertile.  The  people  who  live  in  these 
oases  depend  upon  dates  for  their  living.  The 
dreary  journey  from  the  coast  to  the  interior 
is  made  to  procure  quantities  of  this  fruit, 
which  are  wanted  by  the  outside  world. 

If  you  were  to  make  a  journey  in  a  desert 
country,  you  would  find  that  you  could  not 
carry  such  articles  of  food  as  you  would  have 
if  you  remained  at  home.  The  sunshine  beats 
down  fiercely,  the  springs  and  wells  are  far 
apart,  and  the  patient  animals  must  not  be 
overloaded.  The  chief  article  of  food  carried 
is  the  date.  A  mass  is  packed  together  until 
it  is  so  hard  that  pieces  are  chopped  off  with 
a  hatchet  when  they  are  wanted. 

Like  the  cocoarmt  palm,  the  date  palm  rises 
to  a  great  height,  sometimes  fifty  or  sixty  feet, 
without  branches.  It  ends  in  a  crown  of  beau- 
tiful feathery  leaves  which  droop  downward. 
These  leaves  may  be  ten  or  fifteen  feet  long. 
Many  of  them  stand  edgewise.  Unlike  most 
trees,  the  trunk  does  not  steadily  increase  in 


FIG.  54.  — Date  Palms  loaded  with  Ripe  Fruit,  Biskra,  Algeria. 
(Year  Book  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  1900.) 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

"OF 


HOW  DATES  GROW  159 

size,  and  you  can  tell  nothing  as  to  the  age  of 
the  tree  by  its  diameter. 

In  its  wild  state  many  shoots  spring  from 
the  base  of  the  tree.  These  may  grow  as  high 
as  the  parent  stalk,  so  that  in  time  a  jungle  or 
thicket  is  formed. 

The  flowers,  which  are  clear  white,  grow  in 
clusters.  There  are  from  six  to  twenty  of  these 
clusters  on  a  tree,  each  of  which  produces  a 
bunch  of  dates.  The  female  tree  bears  the 
fruit.  The  blossoms  are  pollinated  both  by  the 
wind  and  by  man. 

There  are  from  ten  to  fifteen  pounds  of  dates 
in  a  bunch.  A  tree  will  average  from  one  hun- 
dred to  twro  hundred  pounds  each  year,  although 
trees  have  been  known  to  yield  six  hundred 
pounds.  The  trees  yield  when  from  four  to 
eight  years  old,  and  continue  to  bear  for  a 
century. 

The  dates,  green  at  first,  later  in  the  year  a 
yellowish  brown,  are,  when  ripe,  amber  or  black 
in  color. 

The  trees  require  a  very  dry,  hot  climate,  but 
moist  soil.  Long,  long  ago,  this  saying  was 


160  HOW   WE   ARE   FED 

common  among  the  Arabs,  "  The  date  palm, 
the  queen  of  trees,  must  have  her  feet  in  run- 
ning water  and  her  head  in  the  burning  sky." 

Although  there  are  lovely  date  palm  trees  on 
the  grounds  of  many  California  homes,  few  of 
them  bear  fruit.  The  temperature  must  aver- 
age from  eighty  to  ninety  degrees  for  a  consid- 
erable time  in  the  summer,  in  order  to  mature 
it.  What  is  the  average  summer  temperature 
in  your  locality? 

If  an  ordinary  tree  is  frost-bitten,  it  recovers 
and  soon  puts  out  a  new  growth ;  but  if  the 
crown  of  the  date  palm  be  frozen,  the  tree  dies. 

When  the  Moors  went  to  Spain,  in  the 
eleventh  century,  they  introduced  this  valuable 
tree  which  the  mission  fathers  several  hundred 
years  later  brought  to  Mexico  and  to  Southern 
California. 

How  would  you  like  to  try  to  climb  a  date 
palm  tree  ?  Although  they  look  so  smooth 
and  are  without  branches,  the  natives  of  the 
desert  climb  them  without  any  help  whatever. 
The  trunk  is  always  somewhat  rough,  and  this 
makes  it  possible  to  ascend  them. 


.FIG.  55.  —  Date  Palm  Trees. 


HOW   DATES   GROW  163 

Not  all  of  the  dates  in  a  bunch  ripen  at  once, 
so  they  are  usually  picked  by  hand  and  only 
the  ripe  ones  selected.  Sometimes,,  however,  the 
bunches  are  cut  off.  Some  dates  contain  so 
much  sap  that  the  bunches  must  be  hung  up 
to  allow  it  to  drain  off  before  they  can  be 
shipped.  This  sap  is  called  date  lioney,  and  is 
saved.  They  are  sent  to  the  coast  towns  in 
bags  or  boxes  called  frails.  Where  dates 
are  to  be  sold  in  small  quantities,  they  are 
repacked  in  the  small  boxes  such  as  you  have 
seen. 

You  know  that  dates  are  very  sweet,  and  it 
is  no  wonder  that  they  are,  for  they  contain 
from  fifty-five  to  sixty  per  cent  of  sugar.  v 

The  trees  are  often  tapped,  and  the  sap  which 
flows  out  is  made  into  sugar.  Vinegar  and  a 
liquor  called  arrack  are  also  made  from  it. 
The  leaves  of  the  tree  are  made  into  bags  and 
mats ;  from  the  stones  a  drink  is  made  which 
takes  the  place  of  coffee.  From  the  leafstalks 
baskets  are  made,  while  the  trunk  furnishes 
material  for  houses  and  for  fences. 

If   the  dates  could  speak,  they  could  tell  us 


164  HOW   WE   ARE   FED 

many  wonderful  stories  of  the  far  East,  of  the 
river  boats  on  the  Nile,  of  the  drifting  sands 
which  come  so  close  to  the  river's  banks,  of 
the  caravans  creeping  over  the  desert  toward 
the  green  oases  and  then  fading  out  of  sight, 
bearing  loads  of  this  food  to  the  countries 
where  it  is  not  produced. 


THE  ORANGE  GROVES  OF  SOUTHERN 
CALIFORNIA 

PASADENA,  CALIFORNIA,  Jan.  4,  1902. 

DEAR  FRIEND  WILL  :  I  was  very  glad  to 
receive  your  letter,  and  much  surprised  to  know 
that  you  are  living  on  a  farm.  I  am  glad  that 
you  described  the  raising  of  cranberries,  for  I 
did  not  know  much  about  it  before.  When  I 
told  my  teacher  about  getting  the  letter,  she 
asked  me  to  read  it  in  the  geography  class 
and  to  show  the  pictures.  I  asked  our  grocery- 
man  where  he  gets  his  cranberries,  and  found 
that  some  of  them  came  from  Wareham. 

You  are  having  cold  weather  now,  I  know. 
Is  the  skating  good  ?  I  have  not  seen  ice  as 
thick  as  window  glass  since  we  came  to  Cali- 
fornia, except  that  delivered  by  the  iceman. 
Just  now  there  is  a  beautiful  covering  of  snow 
on  the  mountains  a  few  miles  north  and  east 
of  town.  Just  think  of  picking  roses  and  callas 

165 


166  HOW   WE   ARE   FED 

with  snow  in  plain  sight !  The  snow  never 
remains  more  than  a  day  or  two  on  these 
mountains. 

Soon  after  we  came  to  Pasadena,  father 
bought  an  orange  grove  of  twenty-five  acres. 
We  are  picking  the  fruit  now.  People  began 
to  pick  oranges  several  weeks  ago,  and  the 
work  will  continue  all  winter. 

Orange  trees  are  planted  about  twenty  feet 
apart,  but  the  groves  do  not  look  as  apple 
orchards  do  in  the  East,  for  no  grass  is  allowed 
to  grow  in  them. 

The  best  orange  section  is  east  of  here,  near 
Redlands  and  Riverside,  but  some  good  fruit  is 
raised  near  Pasadena  also. 

Father  keeps  our  trees  pruned  down  rather 
low,  so  that  it  is  easier  to  pick  the  oranges 
than  it  would  be  if  they  were  allowed  to  grow 
very  tall. 

Orange  raising  is  like  cranberry  growing  in 
one  way  —  the  land  must  be  irrigated  in  each 
case.  Here  the  water  is  piped  from  the  moun- 
tain streams  and  from  tunnels.  We  form 
basins  about  ten  feet  square  around  each  tree 


THE   ORANGE   GROVES   OF   CALIFORNIA     167 

and  fill  them  with  water.  Most  of  our  irrigat- 
ing is  done  during  the  summer,  as  the  winter 
is  our  rainy  season.  You  would  not  call  it  a 
very  rainy  time.  Our  average  is  about  twenty 
inches  for  the  whole  year. 

The  trees  in  our  grove  have  been  set  out 
about  six  years,  and  they  are  bearing  nicely 
now.  Orange  trees  begin  to  bear  when  they 
are  four  years  old ;  so,  you  see,  we  have  to  wait 
a  little  longer  for  a  crop  than  you  do  for  a  crop 
of  cranberries.  It  costs  a  good  deal  to  start  an 
orange  grove.  Trees  cost  from  one  dollar  to 
one  and  one-half  dollars  each  at  the  nurseries. 
A  few  years  ago  they  sold  for  twenty  cents  each. 

I  wish  that  you  could  see  the  trees  when 
they  are  in  full  blossom,  and  also  when  they 
are  loaded  with  the  golden  fruit.  I  am  going 
to  put  some  orange  blossoms  into  the  envelope, 
but  I  am  afraid  they  will  not  reach  you  in  very 
good  condition.  They  are  very  fragrant,  and 
you  can  smell  their  perfume  some  distance  from 
a  tree  in  blossom. 

To-day  we  picked  about  two  hundred  and  fifty 
boxes  of  oranges.  We  always  speak  of  picking 


168  HOW   WE   ARE   FED 

them,  although  they  are  not  picked,  but  cut. 
You  see,  if  they  were  picked  off,  the  part  where 
the  stern  pulled  off  would  soon  begin  to  decay. 
We  take  a  wagon  load  of  fruit  boxes,  and, 
while  father  drives  slowly  between  the  rows 
of  trees,  I  throw  them  off. 


FIG.  56.  —  Picking  Oranges  in  California. 

Each  picker  carries  a  sack  slung  over  one 
shoulder,  and  as  fast  as  he  cuts  off  an  orange, 
he  drops  it  into  the  sack.  The  sacks  are 
emptied  into  the  boxes,  and  these  are  loaded 
on  to  the  wagon.  Father  pays  five  cents  a 
box  for  picking,  and  a  good  picker  will  gather 
about  forty  boxes  in  a  day. 


THE   ORANGE   GROVES   OF   CALIFORNIA     169 

We  sell  most  of  our  oranges  to  fruit  com- 
panies. These  companies  pack  and  ship  the 
fruit.  At  the  packing  houses  the  oranges  are 
placed  in  tubs  of  water  and  scrubbed  with 
small  brushes.  Many  women,  girls,  and  boys 


FIG.  57.  —  Grading  and  Packing  Oranges. 

work  at  this.     The  washing  is  to  take  off  dirt, 
and  also  scale. 

After  the  oranges  are  washed,  they  are  placed 
in  a  sort  of  trough  which  is  highest  at  the  end 
near  the  tub.  They  roll  down  this  trough  to 
the  grader.  This  is  a  machine  so  arranged 
that  the  oranges  pass  through  different  open- 
ings according  to  their  size,  and  come  out  sorted. 


170  HOW   WE   ARE   FED 

In  the  warehouse  close  by  they  are  wrapped 
and  packed.  Chinamen  often  do  this  work. 
Each  orange  is  wrapped  in  a  separate  piece  of 
paper,  which  has  the  brand  of  the  company 
stamped  upon  it.  It  is  then  packed  firmly  in 
a  box.  A  certain  number  of  oranges  of  each 
grade  fill  a  box,  ninety-six  of  the  largest  grade, 
and  about  two  hundred  of  the  smallest.  Those 
which  are  too  small,  as  well  as  the  imperfect 
oranges,  are  rejected.  These  are  called  culls. 
Sometimes  these  are  sold  for  a  low  price,  and 
sometimes  they  are  thrown  away  by  wagon 
loads. 

After  the  boxes  are  filled,  they  are  placed 
in  special  fruit  cars  and  hurried  to  St.  Louis, 
Chicago,  New  York,  Boston,  and  other  cities. 

Yes,  the  Weather  Bureau  is  of  great  help  to 
fruit  growers.  Of  course  we  have  very  little 
winter  here,  but  oranges  will  not  endure  much 
cold.  The  mercury  falls  below  the  freezing 
point  but  a  few  times  each  season.  On  New 
Year's  Day  the  temperature  here  was  fifty-eight 
degrees.  I  looked  up  the  Boston  temperature 
for  the  same  day  and  found  that  it  was  only 


THE   ORANGE   GROVES   OF   CALIFORNIA     171 

four  degrees  above  zero.  When  the  Bureau 
predicts  a  sharp  freeze,  the  farmers  build  small 
fires  in  their  orchards,  or  turn  on  a  good  deal 
of  water.  The  fires  are  built  in  small  wire 
baskets.  They  make  a  smudge  instead  of  a 
flame.  The  people  in  the  raisin  districts  watch 
the  weather  reports  pretty  closely,  for  rain 
injures  the  drying  grapes. 

Growers  have  to  spray r  or  fumigate  the  trees 
to  destroy  the  scale  that  I  spoke  of  which  is  a 
great  enemy  of  the  orange,  to  kill  the  insects, 
and  to  wash  off  dirt.  This  is  sometimes  done 
by  putting  a  great  piece  of  canvas  over  the  tree, 
forming  a  sort  of  tent  which  prevents  the  fumes 
from  escaping.  It  was  found  that  the  ladybugs 
would  eat  the  scale  and  so  they  were  brought 
into  California  from  the  East.  They  do  a  great 
deal  of  good,  but  still  we  have  to  spray  the 
trees. 

Orange  trees  are  raised  from  the  seed,  and 
the  trees  produced  in  this  way  are  called  seed- 
lings. By  budding,  a  fruit  much  better  than  the 
oranges  grown  on  the  seedling  tree  has  been 
produced.  There  were  five  acres  of  seedlings 


172  HOW   WE    ARE   FED 

in  our  grove,  and  father  budded  the  trees.  He 
cut  off  the  limbs  rather  close  to  the  trunk  of 
the  tree.  Then  he  slipped  buds  from  navel 
trees  into  cuts  made  through  the  bark  in  the 
end  of  each  limb  left  on  the  tree.  He  then 
wound  cord  tightly  about  the  limb  and  put  on 
some  wax.  After  a  time  a  new  growth  started 
out  where  these  buds  were  placed.  These  new 
branches  will  bear  much  improved  fruit. 

We  have  a  very  fine  variety  of  oranges  called 
Washington  Navels.  Trees  of  this  variety  were 
obtained  by  our  government  from  Brazil.  Two 
of  these  were  brought  to  Riverside,  a  town 
about  seventy-five  miles  east  of  Pasadena,  and 
planted  on  a  ranch  belonging  to  a  Mr.  Tibbitts. 
They  did  well,  and  all  of  the  trees  of  this  va- 
riety in  Southern  California  were  obtained  from 
these  two  through  budding.  These  trees  are 
still  living. 

California  and  Florida  are  the  two  important 
orange-growing  states  of  our  country.  Father 
says  the  industry  is  much  older  in  Florida  than 
in  our  state.  Florida  growers  can  ship  their 
fruit  to  market  much  cheaper  than  we  can.  It 
costs  us  ninety  cents  for  each  box. 


THE   ORANGE   GROVES   OF   CALIFORNIA     173 

Mexico,  the  West  Indies,  Italy,  southern 
France,  and  Spain  are  also  orange  producers. 
These  countries  have  the  advantage  of  cheap 
labor,  father  says. 

I  wish  that  you  could  visit  us.  We  would 
have  fine  times,  I  am  sure. 

The  next  time  I  write  I  will  tell  you  about 
some  of  the  other  fruits  raised  in  California. 
Your  sincere  friend, 

FRANK. 


A  VISIT   TO  A  VINEYARD 

PASADENA,  CALIFORNIA,  OCT.  1,  1902. 

DEAR  FRIEND  WILL  :  Last  week  father 
went  to  Fresno,  which  is  about  three  hundred 
miles  northwest  of  here,  in  the  San  Joaquin 
valley.  He  took  me  with  him,  and  we  visited 
some  of  the  great  vineyards  and  raisin-packing 
establishments  near  and  in  that  city. 

Raisins  are  simply  dried  grapes.  Although 
there  are  many  countries  where  grapes  grow, 
there  are  few  where  raisins  are  made.  Dew, 
fog,  and  rain  injure  the  fruit,  so  that  the  San 
Joaquin  valley,  with  its  dry,  hot  atmosphere,  is 
well  adapted  to  this  industry. 

There  are  a  great  many  different  kinds  of 
grapes  but  only  the  green  variety  is  used  in 
making  raisins.  The  raisin  grapes  are  called 
muscats.  If  the  grapes  are  left  on  the  vines 
long  enough,  they  become  raisins.  I  have 
picked  some  pretty  good  raisins  from  the  vines. 

174 


A   VISIT   TO   A   VINEYARD  175 

Of  course  by  being  spread  out,  they  dry  quicker 
and  more  evenly. 

The  sugar  that  you  find  on  and  in  the  raisins 
is  not  put  there  by  the  people  who  dry  the 
grapes.  It  comes  from  the  juice  of  the  grape. 

Grapevines  grow  from  both  roots  and  cut- 
tings. Of  course  cuttings  are  the  cheaper. 
Often  they  may  be  had  for  the  asking.  Many 
think  that  it  is  better  to  set  out  rooted  vines 
than  cuttings. 

They  are  planted  in  rows  from  six  feet  apart 
to  twelve  or  fifteen  feet.  During  the  first  year 
the  young  vines  will  grow  several  feet.  In 
the  fall,  when  the  flow  of  the  sap  has  been 
checked  by  frost,  the  vines  are  pruned.  A  vine- 
yard in  California  looks  quite  different  from  one 
in  the  East.  During  the  winter  it  is  simply  so 
many  rows  of  stumps  several  inches  in  thickness 
and  one  or  two  feet  high.  During  the  summer 
the  branches  grow  from  these  stumps  and  pro- 
duce their  beautiful  clusters  of  grapes,  only  to 
be  cut  off  in  the  fall  or  winter. 

The  trimmings  are  generally  burned  in  the 
vineyard  at  the  same  time  that  they  are  cut  off. 


176  HOW   WE   ARE   FED 

A  sort  of  furnace  made  of  sheet  iron  is  fastened 
between  two  wheels  and  drawn  by  horses  up 
and  down  between  the  rows.  A  man  pitches 
the  cuttings  into  it,  and  they  burn  as  it  moves 
along. 

In  the  early  summer  men  go  through  the 
vineyards  sprinkling  a  coating  of  sulphur  on 
the  vines.  This  is  to  prevent  mildew,  which 
damages  the  fruit  very  much. 

During  the  last  half  of  August  and  Sep- 
tember the  grapes  are  picked.  Sometimes  the 
harvest  continues  into  October.  Most  of  the 
grapes  had  been  gathered  when  we  visited 
the  vineyards. 

When  the  juice  of  the  grapes  is  one  fourth 
sugar,  they  are  ready  to  pick.  The  grower 
generally  tells  the  condition  by  the  taste  and 
color  of  the  fruit,  although  there  are  instru- 
ments for  determining  the  amount  of  sugar. 

Like  oranges,  grapes  are  cut  from  the  vines 
and  not  picked.  We  saw  great  companies  of 
Chinamen  going  through  the  vineyards  cutting 
off  the  beautiful  clusters.  These  they  placed  on 
shallow,  wooden  trays  to  dry.  In  a  week  or 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


A   VISIT   TO   A   VINEYARD 


179 


two,  when  the  upper  side  of  the  clusters  is 
pretty  well  dried,  the  grapes  are  turned.  We 
saw  the  workmen  place  an  empty  tray,  upside 
down,  over  the  filled  one.  Then,  holding  the 
two  together,  they  turned  them  over,  and  the 


FIG.  59.  —  Drying  Raisin  Grapes. 

grapes    dropped    into    the    tray  that   had   been 
placed  on  top. 

During  this  drying  time  the  people  watch 
the  reports  of  the  Weather  Bureau.  In  some 
places  flags  are  displayed  when  rain  is  expected. 


180 


HOW   WE   ARE   FED 


As  a  rule  the  grape  season  is  over   before  the 
rains  begin. 

When  the  grapes  are  taken  from  the  trays, 
they  are  placed  in  boxes  holding  about  one 
hundred  pounds  each.  These  are  called  sweat 


FIG.  60.  —  A  Vineyard  after  being  Pruned. 

boxes.  Here  the  driest  grapes  absorb  some 
of  the  moisture  from  the  others,  and  the  mass 
becomes  more  uniform. 

After   the  drying   process  has  been    finished, 
the  stems  are  rather  brittle.      To   make   them 


A  VISIT   TO   A  VINEYARD  181 

softer  and  easier  to  handle,  the  grapes  are  next 
placed  in  a  cool  room  and  left  there  for  a  time. 

After  visiting  some  of  the  vineyards,  we 
drove  to  one  of  the  great  packing  establish- 
ments in  Fresno.  These  packing  houses  are 
nearly  always  in  the  cities  and  towns,  be- 
cause there  help  can  be  easily  obtained.  The 
packing  house  that  we  visited  employs  four 
hundred  people,  mostly  girls  and  women. 

The  raisins  are  first  placed  on  wooden  or 
metal  frames  the  size  of  a  raisin  box.  These 
are  called  /orms,  and  the  packers  are  paid  ac- 
cording to  the  number  of  forms  filled.  When 
these  are  filled,  the  raisins  are  carefully  trans- 
ferred to  the  boxes. 

A  box  of  raisins  weighs  twenty  pounds,  but 
there  are  half  boxes  and  quarter  boxes  put  up 
also.  A  paper  is  placed  on  the  bottom  of  each 
box,  and  over  the  raisins  another  is  placed.  On 
top  of  this  there  is  a  fancy  paper  on  which  the 
name  of  the  packer  is  stamped. 

In  most  establishments  there  are  three  grades 
of  raisins,  Imperial  Clusters,  London  Layers, 
and  the  loose  and  imperfect  stems. 


182  HOW   WE   ARE   FED 

Sometimes  a  second  crop  of  grapes  is  gathered 
a  little  later  in  the  fall.  Of  course  these  do  not 
dry  so  well  because  the  days  are  shorter,  it  is 
cooler,  and  rains  sometimes  occur.  On  this 
account  they  are  dipped  in  lye  and  then  rinsed 
in  water.  The  lye  cracks  the  skin,  and  so  the 
juice  evaporates  more  quickly.  These  are  called 
Valencia  raisins.  There  is  not  a  very  good 
market  for  these,  so  that  people  do  not  dip 
them  so  commonly  now  as  they  used  to. 

We  saw  the  machine  where  the  raisins  are 
stemmed.  They  pass  from  a  hopper  into  a 
space  between  two  woven-wire  cylinders.  The 
inner  one  revolves  within  the  other.  In  this 
way  the  raisins  are  broken  from  the  stems. 
They  are  then  run  through  a  fanning  mill 
which  cleans  them,  and  they  are  finally  graded 
by  passing  through  screens  having  openings  of 
different  sizes. 

Most  of  the  seedless  raisins  are  made  from 
seedless  grapes,  but  there  are  machines  for 
removing  the  seeds  from  the  grapes  which 
contain  them. 

The  superintendent  of  the  packing  house  said 


A  VISIT   TO    A   VINEYARD  183 

that  nearly  all  of  the  raisins  that  we  import 
come  from  Spain,  and  that  they  are  exported 
chiefly  from  the  city  of  Malaga. 

The  purple  and  other  wine  grapes  are  taken 
to  the  wineries  and  sold  by  the  ton,  to  be  made 
into  wine. 

There  are  many  other  things  that  I  should 
like  to  write  about,  but  my  letter  is  a  pretty 
long  one  now,  so  I  will  close. 

Your  loving  friend, 

FRANK. 


NUTTING 

Have  you  ever  gone  into  the  woods  on  a 
beautiful  autumn  day  ?  The  bright,  warm  sun- 
shine floods  the  earth  where  the  trees  are  far 
apart  and  sifts  down  through  the  branches.  All 
nature  seems  to  invite  you  to  lie  down  under 
a  tree  and  dream.  It  was  on  such  a  day  that 
Rip  Van  Winkle  fell  into  his  long  sleep. 

How  pretty  the  trees  look  in  their  fall  suits 
of  yellow,  crimson,  red,  and  brown  !  What  a 
rustling  is  made  as  your  feet  tread  the  carpet 
of  leaves ! 

The  breezes  pass  among  the  branches  and 
whisper  a  message  to  the  bright-colored  leaves. 
They  understand  and  obey.  Singly,  in  groups, 
and  in  showers,  they  silently  float  downward. 
By  night  and  by  day  they  fall,  but  soon  this 
carpet  will  be  changed  for  one  of  white. 

Listen !  The  leaves  are  not  the  only  things 
that  are  falling.  You  can  hear  the  thump, 

184 


NUTTING  185 

thump  of  nuts  as  they  drop  from  their  lofty 
perches  in  the  walnut  and  hickory-nut  trees. 

Sit  down  quietly  on  that  log  and  you  wTill 
soon  see  the  busy  nut  gatherers.  With  their 
tails  curled  over  their  backs,  they  race  up  and 
down  the  trees,  or  spring  from  branch  to  branch, 
carrying  their  precious  burdens  to  their  homes 
hi  the  hollows  of  trunk  or  limb.  Now  one  sits 
up  straight,  holding  a  nut  between  his  paws, 
and  turning  it  slowly  as  he  cracks  and  eats 
it.  If  he  sees  you,  he  whisks  out  of  sight,  or 
scolds  you  from  a  safe  place  far  above  the 
ground. 

When  the  winter  winds  are  whistling  through 
the  leafless  trees,  and  snows  are  drifting  over 
the  ground,  these  little  nut  gatherers  feast  to 
their  hearts'  content. 

The  squirrels  do  not  gather  all  of  the  nuts. 
Children  and  grown  people  enjoy  nutting. 
When  there  are  not  enough  nuts  on  the 
ground,  the  men  and  boys  climb  the  trees  to 
shake  them  off.  Then  everybody  hunts  among 
the  leaves  for  the  treasures. 

Some  of  the  most  important  nuts  are  walnuts, 


186  HOW   WE   ARE   FED 

hickory  nuts,  hazelnuts,  almonds,  chestnuts, 
Brazil  nuts,  pecans,  and  peanuts. 

Many  of  the  hickory  nuts  fall  out  of  their 
coverings  bright  and  clean.  Walnuts  generally 
have  to  be  shucked,  and  the  juice  stains  the 
hands  almost  black. 

As  hazelnuts  grow  on  bushes,  they  can  be 
easily  picked.  They  usually  drop  out  of  their 
burs  after  there  have  been  a  few  frosts. 

Many  nuts  are  gathered  in  the  woods,  but 
in  some  places  the  trees  are  cultivated  just  as 
fruit  trees  are. 

We  usually  eat  nuts  between  meals,  or  as  a 
dessert.  They  are  not  simply  dainties,  but  are 
very  valuable  articles  of  food.  In  some  coun- 
tries the  poor  people  depend  upon  them  for  food. 

In  almost  any  city  of  our  country  are  to  be 
found  the  nuts  that  I  have  mentioned,  with 
perhaps  several  other  kinds.  These  have  come 
from  different  states,  some  from  Canada,  some 
from  Brazil,  and  some  from  Spain. 

I  am  sure  you  will  enjoy  gathering  nuts  of 
different  kinds,  so  let  us  set  out  on  a  nutting 
expedition. 


A  WALNUT   VACATION 

How  would  you  like  to  have  your  school  close 
for  two  weeks,  so  that  you  could  gather  walnuts  ? 
Every  year  many  of  the  boys  and  girls  of  South- 
ern California  are  given  a  vacation  just  for  this 
purpose.  It  is  called  the  "  walnut  vacation/' 
and  occurs  in  the  month  of  October. 

These  children  do  not  take  their  baskets  and 
go  off  to  the  woods  where  they  can  romp  and 
play,  watch  the  squirrels,  and  gather  beautiful 
autumn  leaves.  They  gather  nuts  from  the 
trees  which  their  parents  own,  for  in  Southern 
California  there  are  many  walnut  ranches  or 
groves.  You  see  the  vacation  means  a  vacation 
for  work  instead  of  for  play. 

Walnut  trees  are  set  out  in  rows  just  as  apple 
trees  are,  but  their  roots  and  branches  extend 
to  such  a  distance  from  the  trunks  that  they 
need  to  be  about  twice  as  far  apart. 

The  walnut  harvest,  which  begins  about  the 

187 


188 


HOW   WE   ARE   FED 


first  of  October,  is  a  busy  time.  Men,  women, 
boys,  and  girls  may  be  seen  in  the  groves,  shak- 
ing the  nuts  from  the  trees,  picking  them  up, 
and  putting  them  into  sacks. 


FIG.  61.  — A  Walnut  Grove. 

The  men  shake  the  trees,  and  there  is  a 
shower  of  nuts  to  the  earth.  Do  not  go  under 
the  branches  now  unless  you  want  to  be  pelted. 
A  single  tree  has  been  known  to  yield  three 
hundred  pounds  of  nuts  in  a  season. 


A  WALNUT  VACATION  189 

When  the  trees  have  been  given  a  good  shak- 
ing, there  are  still  some  nuts  clinging  to  the 
branches.  These  are  obtained  by  shaking  the 
limbs  separately,  by  means  of  long  poles,  to 
the  ends  of  which  wire  hooks  are  fastened.  As 
all  of  the  nuts  do  not  ripen  at  the  same  time, 
the  trees  are  sometimes  gone  over  two  or  three 
times. 

Now  the  boys,  girls,  and  women  go  to  work 
filling  pails  and  baskets  and  emptying  them 
into  sacks,  for  they  can  do  this  work  as  well  as 
men. 

Usually  the  nuts  drop  out  of  their  covering  or 
shuck  when  they  strike  the  ground ;  but  if  they 
do  not,  the  shuck  must  be  removed.  Sometimes 
the  covering  is  cut  off.  If  you  handle  the  nuts 
with  your  bare  hands,  they  will  be  stained 
almost  black,  and  you  will  have  to  let  the  color 
wear  off. 

The  days  are  bright  and  warm,  and  this  sort 
of  nutting  becomes  rather  tiresome  before  sun- 
down. The  work  must  be  done  and  the  vaca- 
tion is  not  a  very  long  one,  so  each  does  his 
part  cheerfully. 


190 


HOW  WE  ARE   FED 


When  the  nuts  have  been  gathered,  they  are 
taken  to  the  shed  or  place  where  they  are  to  be 
washed.  Here  they  are  poured  into  a  large 
wire  cylinder  which  revolves  in  a  tank 
filled  with  water.  The  machine  is 
turned  by  a  horse  walking  round 
and  round,  and  it  both  washes 


FIG.  62.  —  Washing,  Drying,  and  Sacking  Walnuts. 

and  grades  the  nuts.  The  smaller  ones  pass 
through  the  meshes  in  the  wire  and  are  called 
second  grade.  The  larger  ones  are  known  as 
first  grade. 

,  When  the  walnuts  come  out  of  the  washer, 
they  are  spread  out  on  shallow,,  wooden  trays  to 
dry.  Sometimes  several  thousand  trays  may  be 


A   WALNUT   VACATION  191 

seen  on  one  ranch.  They  are  loaded  on  to  a 
small  car  and  pushed  to  the  part  of  the  field 
where  they  are  wanted. 

If  there  is  no  foggy  or  cloudy  weather,  they 
will  dry  in  about  five  days,  but  if  there  is,  it 
may  take  ten. 

After  the  nuts  are  thoroughly  dried,  the  trays 
are  placed  on  the  car  and  pushed  to  the  bleacher. 
This  is  a  large  box  made  of  tarred  paper.  It 
is  placed  over  the  trays,  and  a  quantity  of  sul- 
phur is  burned  in  it.  This  is  simply  to  whiten 
the  shells,  for  they  sell  for  a  higher  price  when 
they  are  bleached.  Sometimes  the  nuts  are 
whitened  by  dipping  them  into  a  liquid  prepara- 
tion. 

The  nuts  are  now  sacked  and  marked,  ready 
to  ship.  Soon  after  the  boys  and  girls  have 
finished  their  "  walnut  vacation,"  the  nuts  are 
on  their  way  to  the  eastern  part  of  the  United 
States. 

Most  of  the  walnuts  raised  in  California  have 
soft  shells.  Some  have  such  thin  shells  that 
they  are  called  "  paper  shells."  The  walnuts 
that  grow  in  the  woods  of  Indiana,  Illinois, 


192  HOW  WE   AKE   FED 

and  other  states  have  hard  shells.  They  are 
dark  in  color  and  are  called  Mack  walnuts.  The 
trees  are  quite  valuable,  as  the  wood  is  used 
in  making  furniture. 


CHESTNUTS 

Let  us  go  on  a  chestnutting  expedition  to 
the  southern  part  of  France.  We  can  gather 
the  nuts  in  many  of  the  states  of  our  own 
country,  but  the  trip  to  a  strange  land  will  be 
enjoyed  by  all. 

The  chestnut  trees,  many  of  which  are  very 
old,  spread  their  branches  to  great  distances. 
The  nuts,  as  you  see,  are  inclosed  in  a  bur  or 
coat  which  covers  the  shell.  There  are  gener- 
ally two  nuts  in  each  bur. 

When  you  eat  chestnuts,  you  eat  them  as  a 
sort  of  dainty,  not  as  a  regular  article  of  food. 
This  is  not  the  case  in  the  home  of  Jean, 
the  boy  who  is  helping  his  father  fill  those 
sacks.  In  his  home,  as  in  many  homes  in 
southern  Europe,  the  nuts  form  one  of  the 
chief  articles  of  daily  food. 

In  the  winter  Jean  sells  the  freshly  roasted 
nuts  on  a  street  corner  in  the  city  of  Lyons. 

193 


194  HOW    WE   ARE   FED 

He  gets  a  good  many  pennies  each  noon  from 
workmen  and  poor  people  generally;  who  use 
them  for  their  midday  meal.  He  sells  ten  nuts 
for  a  penny. 

This  is  not  the  only  way  in  which  they  are 
eaten.  Jean's  mother  boils  them  with  celery 
and  mashes  them  as  we  do  potatoes.  The  nuts 
are  also  ground  into  a  flour  from  which  bread 
is  made.  They  are  often  used  in  the  dressing 
for  fowls. 

Confectioners  use  great  quantities  of  chest- 
nuts. In  Lyons  there  are  establishments  where 
as  many  as  two  hundred  persons  are  employed 
in  preparing  them. 

The  nuts  are  first  peeled,  and  then  boiled  in 
clear  water,  which  removes  the  thin  coating 
next  the  kernel.  They  are  then  placed  in  a 
sirup  flavored  with  Mexican  vanilla,  in  wrhich 
they  remain  for  about  three  days.  After  drain- 
ing, they  are  coated  with  vanilla  or  chocolate 
and  packed  in  attractive  boxes.  In  this  form 
they  are  worth  forty-five  or  fifty  cents  a 
pound. 


A  BAG   OF  PEANUTS 

Last  summer  Harry's  parents  took  him  with 
them  on  a  visit  to  Virginia.  Harry  has  always 
lived  in  New  York  City,  and  the  country  life 
of  the  South  was  very  interesting  to  him. 

They  visited  friends  who  live  on  a  beautiful 
plantation,  as  the  farms  in  the  South  are  called. 
A  driveway  lined  with  grand  old  trees  leads 
through  the  flower-studded  lawn  up  to  the 
retired  manor  house,  whose  wide  verandas 
completely  circle  it  round. 

Beyond  the  house  are  the  stables  where  work 
horses,  driving  horses,  and  saddle  horses  are  kept ; 
and  beyond  these  is  the  pretty  little  boathouse, 
standing  on  the  bank  of  a  small  river  that 
winds  its  way  through  the  plantation. 

The  morning  after  Harry  arrived,  his  friend 
Bert  asked  him  if  he  would  like  to  go  across 
the  river  to  see  the  men  harvest  peanuts. 

Now   whenever   Harry  had  wanted   peanuts, 

195 


196  HOW  WE   ARE  FED 

he  had  always  gone  to  a  stand  and  bought 
a  sack.  He  had  never  thought  about  where 
they  came  from.  He  had  heard  of  shaking 
nuts  from  trees,  so  he  supposed  that  they  were 
going  to  the  woods. 

He  was  therefore  much  surprised  when  Bert 
took  him  to  a  field  across  the  river  where  men 
were  plowing  vines  from  the  ground. 

"  Do  peanuts  grow  in  the  ground  ? "  he 
asked. 

"Why,  of  course  they  do/'  answered  Bert. 

"  I  thought  that  nuts  grew  on  trees/'  said 
Harry. 

"  Father  says  that  the  peanut  is  not  a  real 
nut/'  replied  his  friend.  "  He  says  they  should 
be  called  ground  nuts  or  ground  peas"  He 
pulled  up  one  of  the  vines,  and  the  boys  threw 
themselves  down  under  a  tree  to  examine  it. 

When  the  small  clods  of  soil  clinging  to 
the  roots  of  the  plant  had  been  removed, 
Harry  saw  a  number  of  pods  which  he  recog- 
nized as  peanuts. 

Opening  one  of  the  pods,  Bert  took  out  the 
kernels. 


A   BAG   OF   PEANUTS  197 

"  These/'  said  he,  "  are  the  seeds,  and  they 
are  planted  much  as  other  seeds  are. 

"Before  they  are  planted  the  shell  must  be 
removed,  but  we  have  to  be  careful  not  to  break 
the  thin  skin  that  covers  the  kernel.  If  that 
be  broken,  the  seed  will  not  grow. 

"  The  kernels  are  planted  about  one  foot 
apart,  in  rows  that  are,  as  you  see,  about  three 
feet  apart.  Sometimes  they  are  planted  by 
hand  and  sometimes  by  machinery." 

"  I  wonder  if  peanuts  are  raised  in  the 
country  around  New  York,"  said  Harry. 

"No,  I  think  not,"  replied  Bert,  "for  they 
are  very  easily  killed  by  frost.  Great  quantities 
are  raised  in  North  Carolina  and  in  Tennessee. 
Father  says  that  the  negroes  of  western  Africa 
raised  them  long,  long  before  they  were  known 
in  the  United  States.  He  says  that  they  are 
a  very  important  article  of  food  there,  and 
that  whole  villages  take  part  in  the  planting 
and  harvesting. 

"After  the  vines  blossom,"  continued  Bert, 
"a  very  strange  thing  happens." 

"What  is  it?"  asked  Harry. 


198  HOW   WE   ARE   FED 

"  The  flower  stalks  bend  downward  and  push 
themselves  right  into  the  soil,  and  on  these 
the  pods  develop.  If  the  stalks  do  not  enter 
the  earth  within  a  few  hours  after  the  flowers 
fall,  they  die." 

Harry  now  watched  the  plowing.  The  plows 
were  drawn  up  and  down  the  rows  and  ran 
directly  under  the  vines,  lifting  them  out  of 
the  soil.  After  they  had  been  plowed  out  about 
two  hours,  men  took  them  upon  pitchforks  and 
piled  them  up.  Harry  noticed  that  some  of  the 
piles  were  covered  with  corn  fodder,  arid  asked 
why  this  was.  Bert  told  him  that  it  was  to 
keep  out  the  rain. 

"  What  happens  to  the  nuts  after  the  vines 
have  been  piled  up  ?  "  said  Harry. 

"  They  remain  in  the  piles  fifteen  or  twenty 
days,  and  are  then  spread  out  on  the  ground 
or  hauled  to  the  barn,  where  the  nuts  are 
picked  off,"  answered  Bert.  "  Sometimes  they 
are  picked  by  hand  and  sometimes  by  ma- 
chinery. Let  us  go  to  the  lower  field ;  we 
have  an  earlier  variety  there,  and  the  nuts  are 
being  picked  now." 


A  BAG  OF  PEANUTS  199 

They  found  men,  women,  and  children  pick- 
ing the  pods  one  by  one  and  dropping  them 
into  baskets.  These  were  emptied  into  sacks. 
Harry  tried  to  lift  one  of  these,  and  was  sur- 
prised to  find  it  so  heavy.  Bert  told  him  that 
it  weighed  about  one  hundred  pounds. 

"  Do  you  burn  the  vines  after  the  nuts  are 
picked  ?  "  asked  Harry. 

"  No/'  said  Bert,  "  they  are  fed  to  the  cattle. 
We  call  the  vines  peanut  hay." 

Bert  explained  that  his  father  sold  the  sacks 
of  nuts  to  the  factory,  where  they  were  cleaned 
and  sorted. 

The  next  day  the  boys  went  to  town  and 
visited  the  peanut  factory. 

The  nuts  were  first  put  through  a  machine 
which  removed  the  dirt.  They  were  then  pol- 
ished and  sorted  into  four  grades.  The  poorest 
grade  is  used  in  making  peanut  candy.  The 
nuts  were  then  sacked,  and  were  ready  to  be 
shipped  to  the  North. 

Harry  learned  that  an  oil  is  made  from  the 
nuts  which  is  used  as  olive  oil  is  used,  and  also 
that  peanut  butter  is  produced  from  them.  He 


200  HOW  WE   ARE   FED 

found  that  many  men  were  employed  on  plan- 
tations all  through  Virginia  and  other  states  of 
the  South,  in  raising  the  peanuts  that  are  sold 
on  the  streets  of  every  city  and  town  in  our 
country. 


ASSORTED   NUTS 

After  the  Thanksgiving  dinner  had  been 
eaten,  the  nuts  were  passed,  and  the  children 
asked  Uncle  John  to  tell  them  something  about 
a  few  of  them. 

"All  right/'  said  he.  "You  pick  out  the 
ones  that  you  want  to  know  about." 

Frank  handed  him  an  almond. 

"This  nut/' said  Uncle  John,  "came  from 
sunny  Spain.  It  grew  not  far  from  the  blue 
Mediterranean.  Almonds  are  raised  in  most 
parts  of  southern  Europe  and  in  the  northern 
part  of  Africa.  Ages  ago  they  grew  in  the  Holy 
Land,  and  are  mentioned  in  the  Bible." 

"  Do  almonds  grow  in  any  part  of  our  coun- 
try ?  "  asked  Helen. 

"I  think  they  grow  in  California,"  said 
Frank. 

"  You  are  right/'  said  Uncle  John.  "  There 
are  many  almond  orchards  in  the  southern  part 
of  the  state. 

201 


202 


HOW   WE   ARE   FED 


"  An  almond  tree  in  full  bloom  is  a  beautiful 
sight.  The  blossoms  are  white,  tinted  with 
pink,  and  as  they  appear  before  the  leaves  do, 
there  is  nothing  to  hide  them." 


FIG.  63.  —Almond  Trees  in  Full  Bloom. 

"Does  the  nut  have  a  covering?"  inquired 
Mary. 

"Yes/'  replied  Uncle  John.  "When  the 
nut  is  ripe,  the  shuck  opens  gradually,  and 
sometimes  the  nuts  fall  out. 

"When    people    have    large    orchards,   they 


ASSORTED  NUTS  203 

spread  pieces  of  canvas  under  the  trees  and  then 
shake  them  or  beat  them  by  means  of  long  poles. 

"  The  nuts  that  do  not  fall  out  of  the  shucks 
are  obtained  by  opening  the  shuck  with  a  knife. 
The  nuts  are  then  dried,  and  are  ready  for 
market." 

As  soon  as  Uncle  John  had  finished,  Mary 
handed  him  a  hazelnut.  "Please  tell  about 
this  one/'  said  she. 

"  I  have  often  gone  hazel  nutting  when  I  was 
a  boy/'  said  her  uncle.  "  Hazelnuts  grow  on 
bushes  in  thickets.  They  are  six  or  eight  feet 
high  and  very  slender.  Baskets  are  sometimes 
made  of  them,  and  I  have  often  used  them  for 
arrows. 

"  Sometimes  the  nuts  grow  singly,  and  some- 
times in  groups  of  two  or  three.  A  bur  covers 
the  nut,  which  sticks  very  closely  .until  it  is  ripe. 
Then  the  nuts  often  fall  out. 

"  After  I  had  gathered  the  hazelnuts,  I  used 
to  spread  them  out  on  the  roof  of  the  wood  house 
to  dry." 

"Nuts  that  look  just  like  these  are  called 
filberts/'  said  Helen. 


204  HOW   WE   ARE   FED 

"  Filberts   are  cultivated   hazelnuts,"    replied 
Uncle   John;   "they  are   larger  than  the   wild 


ones." 


"  I  would  like  to  know  how  this  nut  grows/' 
said  Helen,  handing  her  uncle  a  black  nut 
shaped  like  a  triangular  prism. 

"  This/'  said  Uncle  John,  "  caine  from  Brazil, 
and  is  called  a  Brazil  nut.  Do  you  know  where 
Brazil  is?" 

"  It  is  in  the  northeastern  part  of  South 
America/'  replied  Helen. 

"  The  great  Amazon  River  is  in  Brazil,  and 
it  flows  through  tropical  forests/'  said  Mary. 

"  Much  of  our  coffee  comes  from  Brazil/'  said 
Frank. 

Uncle  John  then  told  the  children  that 
Brazil  nuts  come  from  the  northern  part  of 
Brazil  and  from  the  Orinoco  valley. 

Helen  asked  if  they  grow  as  walnuts  and 
hickory  nuts  do. 

"No/'  answered  her  uncle,  "they  grow  in- 
side of  a  great  case  or  shell.  There  are  from 
eighteen  to  twenty-five  in  one  shell,  which  is 
nearly  as  large  as  a  man's  head." 


ASSORTED  NUTS  205 

"How  are  the  nuts  got  out  of  the  shells?" 
asked  Mary. 

"  When  they  fall,  men  break  them  open  and 
take  out  the  nuts/'  replied  Uncle  John.  "  Most 
of  them  are  sent  down  the  Amazon  to  the  city 
of  Para  and  from  there  shipped  to  the  United 
States  and  other  countries." 

None  of  the  children  knew  where  Para  is 
situated,  so  they  all  went  to  the  library  to 
look  at  the  atlas.  After  they  had  located  it, 
Uncle  John  told  them  of  his  visit  to  the  city 
and  of  the  wonderful  things  which  he  saw  on 
a  steamboat  trip  up  the  Amazon  River. 


A   STRANGE   CONVERSATION 

One  evening  after  I  had  been  reading  for 
some  time,  I  went  to  the  kitchen  to  get  a  drink 
of  water.  That  part  of  the  house  was  dark 
and  quiet,  and  as  I  stepped  through  the  door- 
way, I  heard  low,  musical  voices,  apparently  in 
the  pantry.  I  was  very  much  surprised,  you 
may  be  sure,  and  I  kept  perfectly  still,  and 
listened. 

"  Yes,"  said  a  voice,  which  I  could  barely 
hear,  "  I  am  a  long  way  from  home  indeed, 
and  sometimes  it  makes  me  quite  lonely  when 
I  think  of  it." 

"  Tell  us  about  your  home,  and  how  you 
lived,"  said  another  low  voice. 

"  Well,"  began  the  first  speaker,  "  my  name 
is  Pepper.  With  twenty-five  or  thirty  brothers 
and  sisters  I  grew  in  a  cluster  on  a  vine. 
We  were  but  a  small  part  of  the  family,  for 
there  were  similar  clusters  all  over  our  vine. 

206 


A  STRANGE   CONVERSATION  207 

We  were  about  as  large  as  peas,  and  grew  some- 
what after  the  fashion  of  currants. 

"  All  about  were  other  vines  to  which  friends 
and  relatives  were  attached.  Pepper  vines  are 
always  anxious  to  get  to  the  top,  and  so  some 
of  these  vines  climbed  trees  and  some  twined 
themselves  about  poles,  which  men  had  set  in 
the  ground  for  this  purpose.  Our  vine  was 
three  or  four  years  old  when  we  appeared  on 
it." 

"  How  long  did  you  live  on  the  vine  ?  "  asked 
a  voice  that  I  had  not  heard  before. 

"  Only  a  few  months/'  replied  Pepper.  "  You 
see,  we  had  to  make  room  for  another  set  of 
berries.  Two  sets  appear  each  year  for  twenty 
years  or  more. 

"  Under  the  influence  of  the  tropical  sunshine 
and  the  warm  rains  we  grew  day  by  day, 
and  we  were  as  happy  as  the  butterflies  and 
birds  about  us.  By  and  by  we  began  to  turn 
red.  All  of  this  time  a  hull  or  coat  was  forming 
on  the  outside  of  our  bodies. 

"  Before  we  became  entirely  red,  workmen 
came  to  the  field,  and,  by  rubbing  us  between 


208  HOW   WE   ARE   FED 

their  hands,  separated  us  from  the  stems  to 
which  we  lovingly  clung. 

"After  having  been  picked,  I  was,  with 
many  others,  placed  upon  a  mat  to  dry.  These 
mats  were  all  about  us,  each  covered  with 
berries.  After  being  thoroughly  dried  we  were 
put  into  a  mill  and  ground,  and  I  became  what 
I  am  now,  Black  Pepper." 

"  Are  there  other  kinds  of  pepper  ? "  asked 
some  one. 

"  Oh,  yes,"  said  Pepper,  "  there  is  White 
Pepper,  and  Red,  or  Cayenne  Pepper.  Some 
of  my  friends  were  made  into  White  Pepper. 
They  were  soaked  in  limewater  for  about  two 
weeks,  and  this,  of  course,  softened  and  wrinkled 
their  hulls  which  had  always  fitted  so  nicely. 
This  was  bad  enough,  but  it  was  not  the 
worst." 

"What  happened  next  ?  "  said  several  voices. 

"  They  were  then,"  continued  Pepper,  "  trod- 
den under  the  bare  feet  of  dark-skinned  men, 
and  this  rubbed  off  their  hulls  completely. 
After  this  they  were  ground  as  we  had  been. 

"  Cayenne  Pepper   is   not  a  member  of   our 


A   STRANGE   CONVERSATION  209 

family  at  all,  although  it  has  the  same  name. 
I  have  looked  up  its  genealogy,  and  I  find  that 
it  received  its  name  from  the  city  of  Cayenne, 
in  French  Guiana,  near  which  it  grows.  It  is  in 
the  form  of  bell-shaped  pods,  and  grows  on  low, 
bushy  plants  instead  of  vines. 

"The  pods  are  green  at  first,  but  red  when 
ripe.  No  doubt  you  have  seen  strings  of  them 
hanging  in  the  grocery  store  when  you  were 
on  the  shelves.  People  sometimes  use  the 
pods  as  they  are,  but  usually  they  are  dried, 
ground,  mixed  with  yeast,  and  baked  into  flat 
cakes  like  crackers.  When  these  cakes  are 
ground,  Red,  or  Cayenne  Pepper,  is  produced. 
It  is  put  up  in  little  boxes  just  as  we  are. 

"  Pepper  used  to  be  regarded  as  a  great 
luxury,"  the  speaker  went  on.  "  Until  the 
eighteenth  century  the  Portuguese  handled  al- 
most all  of  it.  It  was  not  uncommon  for  rents 
to  be  paid  with  pepper.  If  any  of  you  have 
read  ancient  history,  you  know  that  when  Alaric 
took  Rome  he  demanded,  among  other  things, 
one  thousand  pounds  of  pepper  as  a  ransom. 

"My   home   was   in   the   East   Indies,"    said 


210  HOW   WE   ARE   FED 

Pepper,  "but  there  are  members  of  our  fam- 
ily living  in  the  Philippines,  India,  Mexico, 
the  West  Indies,  and  other  tropical  countries." 

"Your  story  is  a  very  interesting  one,"  said 
a  voice,  "  and  now,  if  you  care  to  hear  it,  I  will 
tell  something  of  rny  life." 

"  Yes,  do  tell  us,"  said  several  at  once. 

"Very  well,  I  will  follow  the  example  of 
our  friend  Pepper  and  introduce  myself  at  once. 
I  am  known  as  Ginger.  I  have  relatives  living 
in  China,  in  India,  and  in  the  western  part  of 
Africa,  but  I  came  from  the  West  Indies.  The 
Ginger  family  is  not  like  that  of  Pepper;  it 
has  no  lofty  notions." 

Pepper  seemed  a  little  inclined  to  get  angry, 
so  Ginger  hastened  to  say :  "  I  mean  that  our 
vines  do  not  climb  trees  or  poles,  but  run  along 
the  ground.  I  was  a  root  and  not  a  fruit." 

"  When  I  was  about  a  year  old  I,  with  count- 
less friends,  was  dug  from  the  ground.  We 
were  cut  from  the  vines  and  put  into  vats  of 
scalding  water." 

"  That  was  dreadful"  said  Pepper. 

"  We  were  treated  in  that  way  to  prevent  us 


A  STRANGE   CONVERSATION  211 

from  sprouting"  continued  Ginger.  "  After 
being  taken  out  of  the  water,  we  were  thor- 
oughly dried  and  then  ground.  We  were  then 
put  up  in  cans  and  boxes  and  sold  as  Black 
Ginger.  Others  were  scraped  before  being 
ground,  and  they  were  then  called  White  Ginger. 
'  "  We  were  placed  on  board  a  great  ship  and 
finally  landed  at  New  York.  After  remaining 
in  a  large  store  there  for  some  time,  I  was 
brought  to  the  corner  grocery,  and  so  I  found 
my  way  to  this  shelf. 

"I  am  gradually  wasting  away,  and  I  shall 
not  last  a  great  while  longer.  In  my  tropical 
home  I  seemed  to  be  of  no  use  to  anybody, 
while  now  I  am  called  for  frequently  by  the 
cook,  and  my  services  seem  to  be  appreciated, 
so  I  am  happy." 

"  To  be  of  some  real  use  in  this  world  is  the 
greatest  joy  of  life,"  remarked  a  strange  voice. 

There  was  silence  for  a  moment,  and  then 
Ginger  said  "May  we  not  hear  from  you, 
friend?" 

"  Your  stories  almost  make  me  believe  that  I 
am  still  in  the  land  of  my  birth,"  was  the  reply. 


212  HOW  WE  ARE  FED 

There  was  a  peculiar  little  rattle  about  the 
voice,  which  I  recognized  at  once  as  belonging  to 
Cinnamon. 

"  For  several  years  I  was  rocked  to  and  fro 
by  gentle  tropic  breezes  or  lashed  about  by 
storms.  From  my  perch  I  could  see  beautiful 
flowers,  bright  insects,  and  even  serpents  in  the 
thicket  at  my  feet.  Birds  of  brilliant  plumage 
often  perched  upon  me.  My  home  was  on  the 
island  of  Ceylon. 

"It  is  often  said  that  where  there  is  much 
bark  there  is  no  bite.  In  my  own  case  that  is 
not  so." 

"  I  do  not  understand,"  said  Ginger. 

"  Why,"  said  Cinnamon,  laughing,  "  I  am  all 
bark,  and  I  have  considerable  bite,  as  those  who 
have  tasted  me  know. 

"  I  was  taken  from  one  of  the  smaller  limbs 
of  a  cinnamon  tree.  I  was  slipped  within  a 
larger  piece  of  bark,  for  we  each  rolled  up  when 
stripped  from  the  limbs.  A  still  larger  piece 
was  slipped  over  us  and  so  on  until  quite  a 
bundle  had  been  formed.  Some  were  quite 
short,  and  some  were  three  feet  in  length. 


A  STRANGE   CONVERSATION-  213 

"  We  were  then  gathered  into  packages  and 
a  sort  of  matting  was  sewed  about  us.  In 
this  form  we  were  shipped  to  New  York.  In  a 
great  warehouse  there  I  became  acquainted 
with  Cinnamon  from  Java,  China,  Egypt,  and 
Brazil.  From  these  friends  I  learned  many 
interesting  things  about  different  parts  of  the 
world,  which  I  may  tell  you  some  time." 

Another  voice  now  took  up  the  conversation. 

"  We  have  heard  from  a  fruit,  a  root,  and  a 
bark.  I  am  none  of  these,  but  a  flower  not 
fully  developed.  I  was  one  of  the  myriad  buds 
that  decorated  a  beautiful  evergreen  tree,  on  an 
island  in  the  Indian  Ocean. 

"  Men  call  me  Clove  because  I  bear  some 
resemblance  to  a  little  nail.  The  part  of  my 
body  which  looks  like  the  head  of  a  nail  is 
formed  by  the  corolla  which  did  not  have  a 
chance  to  open  fully. 

"When  I  was  picked,  I  was  just  changing 
from  a  green  to  a  red  color.  I  was  placed, 
with  others  of  my  kind,  on  a  large  cloth  spread 
on  the  ground,  and  there  we  dried  and  hardened. 
As  we  dried,  we  became  dark  brown  in  color. 


214  HOW  WE  ARE   FED 

"Our  family  used  to  live  on  the  Molucca 
Islands,  but  it  has  been  scattered,  and'  members 
are  now  found  in  tropical  Africa,  in  Brazil,  in 
the  West  Indies,  and  elsewhere." 

There  was  a  slight  stir  as  though  some  one 
else  were  preparing  to  speak,  but  just  at  that 
minute  a  door  slammed,  and  in  an  instant  all 
was  still.  I  waited  for  some  time,  hoping  to 
hear  more  of  this  interesting  conversation ;  but 
not  another  word  was  spoken,  so  I  hurried  to 
the  library  and  wrote  all  that  I  had  heard. 


STORIES  OF  CALIFORNIA 

BY 

ELLA  M.  SEXTON 

With  many  illustrations 

Cloth  i6mo  $1.00  net 


"As  a  concise  and  interesting  history  of  California,  it 
deserves  a  place  in  our  schools  and  libraries,  so  that  every 
child  may  read  it."  —  Pacific  Churchman. 

"  This  volume  comprises  some  excellent  contributions  to 
history,  as  it  certainly  comprises  some  notable  contributions 
to  romance.  The  little  book  is  one  which  will  appeal, 
therefore,  to  readers  old  and  young.  Several  of  the  stories 
explain  in  some  degree  the  remarkable  physical  character- 
istics of  California,  but  the  writer's  chief  aim  has  been  to 
unfold  to  children  and  their  parents  the  life  of  bygone 
days."  —  The  Outlook. 


THE   MACMILLAN   COMPANY 

64-66   FIFTH    AVENUE,   NEW   YORK 

BOSTON      CHICAGO      SAN  FRANCISCO      ATLANTA 


Tarr  and   McMurry's   Geographies 

A  NEW  SERIES  OF  GEOGRAPHIES  IN  TWO,  THREE,  OR  FIVE 
VOLUMES 

By  RALPH   S.   TARR,    B.S.,  F.G.S.A. 

CORNELL  UNIVERSITY 
AND 

FRANK   M.  McMURRY,   Ph.D. 

TEACHERS  COLLEGE,  COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY 


TWO  BOOK  SERIES 

Introductory  Geography 60  cents 

Complete  Geography $1.00 

THE  THREE  BOOK  SERIES 

FIRST  BOOK  (4th  and  5th  Years)  Home  Geography  and  the  Earth 

as  a  Whole 60  cents 

SECOND  BOOK  (6th  Year)  North  America 75  cents 

THIRD  BOOK  (jth  year)  Europe  and  Other  Continents    ...       75  cents 

THE  FIVE  BOOK  SERIES 

FIRST  PART  (4th  year)  Home  Geography 40  cents 

SECOND  PART  (5th  year)  The  Earth  as  a  Whole      ....  40  cents 

THIRD  PART  (6th  year)  North  America 75  cents 

FOURTH  PART  (yth  year)  Europe,  South  America,  Etc.  ...  50  cents 
FIFTH  PART  (8th  year)  Asia  and  Africa,  with  Review  of  North 

America 40  cents 

To  meet  the  requirements  of  some  courses  of  study,  the  section  from  the  Third 
Book,  treating  of  South  America,  is  bound  up  with  the  Second  Book,  thus  bringing 
North  America  and  South  America  together  in  one  volume. 

The  following  Supplementary  Volumes  have  also  been  prepared,  and  may  be 
had  separately  or  bound  together  with  the  Third  Book  of  the  Three  Book  Series, 
or  the  Fifth  Part  of  the  Five  Book  Series : 

SUPPLEMENTARY    VOLUMES 


New  York  State    ...  30  cents 

The  New  England  States  .  30  cents 

Utah 40  cents 

California 30  cents 


Kansas 30  cents 

Ohio 30  cents 

Virginia      .....  30  cents 

Pennsylvania  ....  30  cents 


Texas  35  cents 

When  ordering,  be  careful  to  specify  the  Book  or  Part  and  the  Series  desired, 
and  whether  with  or  without  the  State  Supplement. 


PUBLISHED  BY 

THE   MACMILLAN   COMPANY 

64-66   FIFTH   AVENUE,    NEW  YORK 


Tarr  and  McMurry's  Geographies 


COMMENTS 

North  Plainfield,  N.J. 

"  I  think  it  the  best  Geography  that  I  have  seen." 

—  H.  J.  WIGHTMAN,  Superintendent. 
Boston,  Mass. 

"I  have  been  teaching  the  subject  in  the  Boston  Normal  School 
for  over  twenty  years,  and  Book  I  is  the  book  I  have  been  looking 
for  for  the  last  ten  years.  It  comes  nearer  to  what  I  have  been 
working  for  than  anything  in  the  geography  line  that  I  have  yet 
seen.  I  congratulate  you  on  the  good  work." 

—  Miss  L.  T.  MOSES,  Normal  School. 
Detroit,  Mich. 

"I  am  much  pleased  with  it  and  have  had  enthusiastic  praise 
for  it  from  all  the  teachers  to  whom  I  have  shown  it.  It  seems  to 
me  to  be  scientific,  artistic,  and  convenient  to  a  marked  degree. 
The  maps  are  a  perfect  joy  to  any  teacher  who  has  been  using 
the  complicated  affairs  given  in  most  books  of  the  kind." 

—  AGNES  McRAE. 
De  Kalb,  111. 

"I  have  just  finished  examining  the  first  book  of  Tarr  and 
McMurry's  Geographies.  I  have  read  the  book  with  care  from 
cover  to  cover.  To  say  that  I  am  pleased  with  it  is  expressing 
it  mildly.  It  seems  to  me  just  what  a  geography  should  be.  It  is 
correctly  conceived  and  admirably  executed.  The  subject  is  ap- 
proached from  the  right  direction  and  is  developed  in  the  right 
proportions.  And  those  maps  —  how  could  they  be  any  better? 
Surely  authors  and  publishers  have  achieved  a  triumph  in  text- 
book making.  I  shall  watch  with  interest  for  the  appearance  of 
the  other  two  volumes."— Professor  EDWARD  C.  PAGE,  Northern 
Illinois  State  Normal  School. 

Asbury  Park,  N.J. 

"I  do  not  hesitate  at  all  to  say  that  I  think  the  Tarr  and 
McMurry's  Geography  the  best  in  the  market." 

—  F.  S.  SHEPARD,  Superintendent  of  Schools. 
Ithaca,  N.Y. 

"  I  am  immensely  pleased  with  Tarr  and  McMurry's  Geography." 
—CHARLES  DE  GARMO,  Professor  of  Pedagogy*  Cornell  University. 


•LAST  DATE 

TBKBOoKg^1^ 

,«««.  «S£?«?S 

^.rrC<^ED     FOR  .,.-        THE     P£ 


(XJ^ 


